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GOULD    AND   LINCOLN, 

59  WASHINGTON  STEEET,  BOSTON, 

Woulc1:  call  particular  attention  to  the  following  valuable  WOKS  described 
in  their  Catalogue  of  Publications,  viz. : 

Hugh   Miller's    Works. 

Bayne'sf  Works.       Walker's  Works.       Miall's  Works.       Bungener's    Work. 

Animal  of  Scientific  Discovery.      Knight's  Knowledge  is  Power. 

Krummacher's  Suffering  Saviour, 

Banvard's  American  Histories.      The  Aimwell  Stories. 

KewcOmb's  Works.     Tweedie's  Works.     Chambers's  Works.     Harris' Works. 

Kitto's  Cyclopaedia  of  Biblical  Literature. 

IF.rs.  Knignt's   Life  of  Montgomery.        Kitto's   History  of  Palestin 

Wheewcll's  Work.     Wayland's  Works.     Agassiz's  Works. 


piC6tim(iDJ  of  Boct,    - 
\  Aon.  .r  Sclent.  ViL>SWaaih. ,MUI"  ■ 
\  Kaitu  and  Man  *""%  D"'d  A-  »** 
k  Principle.  ofZoob-    1\  *,m°     ?"**• 

^Knowledge  Ij  Power,       «^    C&..T?™  ■«*»»■ 
i,  Cjclop.  of  Ens.  Literal 

R'A  cJc,°P-  of  B'ble  Lit- 

5\\\  Concord. of  tb.  Biblt. 
Analjt.  Cone  of  Bible 
1    Moral  Science, 

\Tb,o«»»  *«"*!£ 


-.   ..„*  , 
IE?  K0i,U,  XV; 

«>*«  Chamber,.     N 
K.tto.  _  Cruden. 
£adie.  _  Williamj. 
to,  Francis  \V.T|Mj. 
Vi\  Jobn  Harrij. 
Peter  Bajne. 


k^ 


L>Oa 


Ar.-sst/rjcsz 


William's  Works.     Guyot's  Works. 

Phcmpson's  Better  Land.     Kimball's  Heaven.    Valuable  Works  on  Missions. 

Haven's  Mental  Philosophy.     Buchanan's  Modern  Atheism. 

Cruden's  Condensed  Concordance.      Eadic's  Analytical  Concordance. 

The  Psalmist :  a  Collection    of  Hymns. 

Valuable   School  Books.     Works  for  Sabbath  Schools. 

Memoir  of  Amos  Lawrence. 

Poetical  Works  of  Milton,  Cowper,  Scott.       Elegant  Miniature  Volum.pp. 

Arvine's  Cyclopaedia  of  Anecdotes. 

Kipley's  Notes  on  Gospels,  Acts,  and  Bomans. 

Sprague'o  European  Celebrities.     Marsh's  Camel  and  the  Eallig. 

Bogefs  Thesaurus  of  English  Word3. 

Hackett's  Notes  on  Acts.      MWhorter'3  Tahveh  Christ. 

Siebold  and  Stannius'3  Comparative  Anatomy.    Marco's  Geological  Map,  V.  8. 

Beligious  and  Miscellaneous  Works. 

WTorks  ia  the  various  Department*  i>r  Literature,  Science  and  Art. 


THE 


i^ATILKAiinri'DJiT 


rfil    HU  MAN    SPECIES 


%9 


LIEUT    COL  CHAS  HAMILTON    SMITH    K  H 


-   •       r  i  n  i 


GOULD       8c        LINCOLN 

59     WASHINGTON   STR  EET 
1851. 


THE 


NATURAL   HISTORY 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES 


TYPICAL    FORMS,    PEIMEVAL    DISTRIBUTION, 
FILIATL  »NS,   AND.  MIGRATK  >N& 


ILLUSTRATED  BY  NUMEROUS  ENGRAVINGS. 


BY 

LIFXT.-COL.   CIIAS.   HAMILTON  SMITH. 

rRESIDHNT    OK    Till:    DEVuS    AND   OOBHWALL   -NAT.    UIoT.   SOCIETV,   ETC.    ETC. 


WTTII    A    PRELIMINARY    ABSTRACT    OK    Till:    VTJGWB    OB    BI.UMENBACH, 
PRICIIARD,   BACHMAN,  AGASSI/.,  AMI  OTHER  AUTHORS 
OF  REPUTE  ON  THE  BUBJ] 


BY  S.  KNEEL  AND,  Jr.,  M.  D. 


BOSTON: 
G  O  IJ  L  D      A  N  D      LINCOLN 

NEW    YORK:    SHELDON    AND    COMPANY. 
CINCINNATI  :   GEO.  S.  BLANCHAKD. 

185  9. 


feV^ 


Entered  according;  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1851 

13  t    GOULD    &    LINCOLN, 

In  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  District  of  Massachusetts. 


Stereotyped   by 

H  0  B  A R  T   k   ROBBISS; 

NEW  ENGLAND  TYPE  AXD  STEREOTYPE  FOCXDBT. 

BOSTON''. 


Printed  by  George  C.  Rand  &  Co.,  No.  3  Contra)!. 


PUBLISHERS' 

ADVERTISEMENT  TO  THE  ENGLISH  EDITION. 


After  the  anxious  and  ardent  study  of  two  years,  the 
talented  author  of  the  following  pages  has  reduced  to  a  last- 
ing form  the  labors,  original  observations,  and  pictorial  illus- 
trations, collected  during  his  long  and  valuable  life,  upon 
this  important  history,  in  which  he  has,  with  such  praise- 
worthy industry,  treasured  up  the  interesting  facts  and 
reasonings  in  this  volume  —  very  much  condensed  it  is  true, 
but  yet  exhibiting  such  a  view  of  the  subject  as,  we  trust, 
cannot  fail  of  being  both  interesting,  instructive  and  popular. 

We  embrace  this  opportunity  to  give  an  extract  of  a  letter 
just  received  from  himself  respecting  a  Preface  to  the  volume, 
not  being  willing  to  lose  any  details  which  may  fall  from  so 
valuable  a  source. 

"As  for  a  Preface,  I  see  nothing  required,  unless  it  was 

thought  proper  to  state  what  I  had  said  in  the  concluding 

1# 


VI  ADVERTISEMENT. 

paragraph  respecting  my  predecessors,  whose  details  I  did 
not  think  it  my  mission  to  repeat,  particularly  as  theconfi 
space  allowed  me  was  not  even  sufficient  to  fully  explain  the 

statements  I  had  to  make  and  comment  upon.  This  fact  is 
abundantly  exemplified  in  the  short  abstracts  I  have 
compelled  to  give  of  the  European  Caucasians]  whose  inter- 
mixtures, by  well  known  migrations  from  the  north  b 
south,  might  have  been  given,  with  details  full  of  interest ; 
particularly  as,  by  the  means  of  the  Gothic  invasions,  all  the 
new  elements  were  brought  into  existence,  which.  • 
leavened  by  Christianity  and  the  antique  schools  of  civiliza- 
tion, brought  forth  the  present  pr  ;  development. 
Experiment,  fact,  and  inductive  fact,  are  the  basis  of  knowl- 
edge, and  stand  in  perpetual  contradistinction  to  the  author- 
ity and  dicta  of  antiquity,  usually  without  foundations.  In 
the  work  before  us.  it  is  true  that  much  rests  necessarily 
upon  induction ;  but  when  we  have  antecedents  and  succe- 
dents,  the  intermediate  cannot  be  said  to  be  conjecture:  it  is 
an  approximation  to  positive  fact,  from  actual  necessity. 
This  is  the  line  of  arguing  which  I  would  take  up  if  a  pref- 
ace be  necessary." 


C  0  N  T  E  N  T  S 


PAG1C 

INTRODUCTION, 16 

Preliminary  Observations,  .  .99 

Changes  on  the  Earth  BDKH  the  commencement  of 

the  iiti-i.M   Zoological  .System,      ....  104 

.    105 
South  of  A  ......         107 

The  Indus, 107 

Ceylon, Ill 

The  Ganges,  .  .  .  .  .  .  .118 

Australasia,     .  .  .  .  .  .  .113 

East  Coast  of  Asia,  .  .  .  .  .  .115 

Arctic  Asia,     .  .  .  .  .  .  .118 

Caspian  Basin,  or  Asiatic  Mediterranean,        .  .  .120 

Europe,  .......         124 

Arctic  Europe,      .......    126 

Western  Europe, 128 


VIII  CONTENTS. 

net 

The  Rhine 130 

Great  Britain,  ......  133 

Southern  Europe, .  .  .  •  •  •  .186 

Italy, 

TheEgean, 189 

Asia  Minor,     .  .  .  -  .  •  •  '41 

Basin  of  the  Dead  Sea,    .  .  .  .  .  .142 

Currents  of  the  Mediterranean,        .  .  .  .  Ill 

Africa, 146 

America,  .  .  .  .  •  .  •  117 

WeBt  Indies,         .  .  .  .  .  .  .149 

North  America,  ...... 

The  Pacific, 

Bones  of  Man  AMONG  Organic  BjolUHB,       .  .  .  153 

Vale  of  Kostritz,   .  .  .  .  .  .  .168 

Traditions  respecting  extinct  Sj ■■ 

Human  Ossuaries,  with  Bones  of  extinct  Animals, 

Existence  of  Man  as  a  Genus,  or  as  a  BlHOl 

Species  or  Typical  Forms  of  Man,  .  .  .  .    17o 

Abnormal  Races  of  Man,  .  .  .  .  .182 

The  Giants, 182 

The  Dwarfs, 186 

The  Aturian  Pal tas  or  Flatheads  of  South  America,   .  .190 

Remains  of  other  Abnormal  Tribes,  .  .  .         193 


•  CBNT8.  IX 

TACE 

The  Tvnc\.L  Stocks,  .......    193 

Comparison  ol  Btruotura]  Differences  i  f 

the  k«,  .  .  .  .  ,  [98 

the  Typical  - 
Plriii  •  Mm,  or  position  oft] 

l    BabtjpioaJ 

Stocks,  ....... 

Till;   WOOLLY  HAIRED   TROPICAL  TYPE,        .  .  .    22:5 

Tii  ......        •_'!;; 

Tin:    \  -  'i,     .  .  .  .  .     266 

Tin:   HYPERBOREAN,    BEARDLESS,   OB   BfONGOLIC  TYPE, 

Till.    FlBBIO,    "m:\ii\-,    OB   T-i  ill mc   BUBTIFIUAZ   Si 

Tho  i  ......  305 

Llogrians,         .....  307 

Tlic  Veneti,      .......  800 

The  I  .  .  .  .  .  .  .811 

mi,  ......  820 

The  B  B28 

The  Khan  ......  325 

The  Hungarians,  .......  325 

The  Turks, 827 

The  Ethiopia*  or  Melahio  Stem,  ....   330 

The  Egyptians,  ......         310 


X  CONTENTS. 

MM 

The  Atlantics  or  Berbers,  .... 

The  Numidians,  ...... 

The  Amazigh,        ....... 

TheSuakim, 

The  Tuarikhs, 

THE  BEARDED,   INTERMEDIATE,    OR   CAUCASIAN    TYPE, 

The  Semitic  Races,  ......  871 

The  Arabs, -rri 

The  Hebrews, 

The  1! abylonians,  Chaldees,  and  Assyrians,     .  .  .  373 

The  Gaurs  and  Persians,       .....  381 

The  Typical  Caucasians,     .          .          .          .          .  .383 

The  Kaufirs  or  Mamoges,       .....  384 

The  Circassian  and  Georgian  Tribes  of  the  Caspian  Caucasus,   386 

The  Pelasgian,  Dorian,  and  Hellenic  Tribes,          .           .  388 

The  Tirynthians,               .            .            .            .            .  .391 

The  Romans,    .......  393 

The  Celtic  Nations,          .           .                       .           .  .396 

The  Getas  or  Gothic  Nations,            ....  410 

Appendix,  ........    421 


EXPLANATION   OF   THE   PLATES. 


PLATE  I. 

Beginning  with  the  most  aberrant  forms,  we  have  the  American, 
whereof  the  Aturiau  Palta  or  Titicaca  Flatheads  form  the  type.  It  is  so 
distinct,  that  it-  having  a  oommoo  origin  with  the  forma  of  the  Old  Con- 
tinent is  not  satisfactorily  established,  since  the  oblique-headed  Peruvian 
and  the  depressed-headed  Chinook  are  mere  artificial  imitations  of  the 
typical  head.  That  this  is  not  itself  the  result  of  contrivance,  is  exempli- 
fied in  the  figure  of  a  Titicaca  child's  head  of  perhaps  the  fifth  year, 
which  is  greatly  prolonged,  yet  less  so  than  another  in  positive  infancy. 
Both  have  the  orbits  more  solid  than  heads  of  the  same  age  on  the 
eastern  continent,  and  the  older  of  the  two  presents  the  additional  bone 
(os  incoe)  at  the  back  of  the  head.  The  oblique-headed  Peruvian  shows 
its  resemblance  to  Asiatic  figures  to  be  noticed  in  the  sequel. 

PLATE  II. 

Offers  specimens  of  the  woolly-haired  type,  the  vertical  view  of  a 
Negro's  skull,  pointing  out  the  small  breadth  compared  to  the  depth,  and 
the  projection  of  the  face  approaching  the  Titicaca  form.     Both  have  the 


XII  EXPLANATION    OF   THE    PLATES. 

frontal  bone  carried  high  up  the  dome,  though  not  in  the  same  degree. 
There  is  no  very  striking  difference  between  tb<  toad  east 

coast  of  Africa.    Those  of  Oriental  Negroes,  and  <  ,  who 

are  not  an  unmixed  race,  have  the  same  typical  structure,  though  more 
debased  ;  the  Tasmanian  being  the  lowest,  with  perhaps  the  exception  of 
the  Bushman. 

PLATE   III. 

Of  the  beardless  type,  may  be  observed  the  shorter  and  more  quadran- 
gular cranial  form,  with  still  more  facial  protrusion  ;  and,  in  the  most 
northern  partially  mixed  races,  the  very  contracted  occiput  is  remark- 
able. 

PLATE   IV. 

Shows  the  regular  oval  form  of  the  most  intellectual  type  :  more 
breadth  of  forehead  ;  prolonged  expansion  backward-;,  and  nearly  vertical 
facial  angle.  The  regular  dome,  as  seen  in  the  finest  races  of  mankind  — 
ancient  Egyptians,  Hebrews,  Greeks,  Circassians,  and  Ai  il  -.  [a  most 
European,  a  slight  modification  from  a  Finnic  source  may  be  traced. 

PLATE   V. 

Proves  the  typical  identity  of  the  Oriental  Negro  with  those  of  Mozam- 
bique and  Guinea. 

PLATE  VL— Figs.  1  and  2. 

Exhibits  profiles  of  Indo-Chinese,  or  the  sub-type  of  what  we  take  to 
be  the  Malay  races,  where,  in  the  vertical  profile  of  one,  we  have  a  Cau 
casian  predominance,  in  the  other  more  Papua  blood,  both  in  some  degree 
pat-taking  of  the  Xegro  coloring,  but  with  the  hard,  black  straight  hair 
of  a  Mongolic  intermixture.  In  the  Australasian  Islands,  many  customs 
remain,  which  attest  that  a  portion  of  the  American  people  derives  its 


EXPLANATION    OF    THE    PLATES.  XIII 

origin  from  them  :  fur,  among  their  paintings  and  carved  work,  represent- 
ing gods  and  heroes,  we  Bee  personages  d anoing  with  human  heads  slung 
to  the  waist,  like  modern  Dyaks  ;  we  observe  ensigns  of  feathers,  stuck 
in  sheaths  at  the  hack,  like  the  Malays  of  Java  ;  and  masks,  tomahawks, 
shields,  sword  handles,  and  spears  adorned,  in  a  similar  manner,  >\ith 
human  hair  and  tufts  of  feathers.  We  refer  to  the  figures  in  Captain 
Keppel's  voyage,  and  in  the  late  Dutch  publications  on  their  Indian  pos- 
sessions. 

1       .  8  and  1. 

The  character  of  lank  hair  is  universal  in  the  beardless  races,  and  the 
presence  of  Caucasian  blood  scarcely  marked  by  a  somewhat  more  ruddy 
complexion,  and  slight  beard  in  the  Mung'.l  and  Eleuth. 

PLATE  VII.—  Fig.  1. 

Exemplifies  an  abnormal  family  of  tribes.  We  figure  a  Bushman,  onco 
a  private  soldier  in  the  Cape  Rifles,  like  all  the  Hottentot  nations,  known 
by  the  pale  yellow  color.     From  drawin  Nelson,  B.  E. 

.  -1. 

Carose  Brazilian  ;  hybrid  between  Negro  a  tribe  "f  Indian 

blood.     A.t  Cape  Gardafui,  in  Eastern   '  Lrab  intermixture  pro- 

duces the  same  external  aspect  in  the  Jamaule  Negroes.  It  occurs  again 
among  the  Mekran  Ethiops,  and  among  the  Malay  Papuas  of  the  Indian 
Ocean. 

PLATE  VIII.  —  Fig.  1. 

Tc-Kewiti,  a  New  Zealand  chief,  showing,  in  conduct,  reasoning,  and 

person,  high  Caucasian  development. 
2 


XIV  EXPLANATION    OF   THE    PLATE3. 

Fig.  2. 

North  American  Indian  ;  from  the  Travels  of  Prince  Maximilian  of 
Wied. 

PLATE   IX.  —  Fig.  1. 

Cluche  Indian  :  a  tribe  bordering  on  the  Rocky  Mountains,  strongly 
marked  with  Mongolic  characters.     He  was  sketched  at  New  York. 

Fig.  2. 

Portrait  of  a  Mongolic  race  :  the  Nogai  Tahlar  bearing  the  character- 
istics of  his  type  very  strongly. 

PLATE   X. 

The  Black  Kalmuck  most  strongly  marked  with  the  Mongolic  charac- 
ter ;  and  a  Japanese  prize-fighter,  with  broad  but  receding  forehead. 

PLATE   XI.  —  Fig.  1. 

Portrait  of  Mohammed  II.,  showing  the  Turkish  Ouralian  character, 
before  the  race  was  as  yet  much  intermixed  with  Circassian  and  Greek 
blood. 

Fig.  2. 

The  forehead  of  the  Sarmatian  noble  is  the  maximum  instance  of  exter- 
nal mental  development.  It  is  the  same  character  that  distinguishes  the 
portraits  of  TVallenstein  and  other  Bohemian  and  Polish  heads. 

VIGNETTE. 

Blackfoot  Indian,  taken  from  Prince  Maximilian  of  "VYied's  magnificent 
Atlas  of  Plates,  illustrative  of  the  North  American  Indian  Tribes  and 
Scenery. 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  subject  of  the  "  Natural  History  of  Man"  lias  become  one  of 
the  most  exciting  topics  of  the  day,  both  from  its  intrinsic  interest 
and  importance,  and  from  the  various  bearings  which  have  been 
given  to  it  by  sectarians,  philanthropists,  and  savans.  It  is  not  a 
question  of  one  side  only,  as  many  take  for  granted,  nor  has  it 
become  two-sided  within  the  last  few  years.  As  long  ago  as  the 
appearance  of  the  work  of  Lawrence,  scientific  men  maintained 
conflicting  opinions  on  the  original  seats  and  characteristics  of  the 
human  races  ;  and  the  great  advances  now  made  in  zoology,  com- 
parative anatomy,  history,  geography,  philology,  &c,  have  added 
new  arguments  to  both  sides  of  the  question,  and  rendered  a  satis- 
factory decision  an  exceedingly  difficult  matter. 

Dr.  Prichard  may  be  considered  as  the  best  expounder  of  the 
theory  of  the  original  unity  of  the  human  race.  The  author  to  whose 
work  this  chapter  is  introductory,  adopts  the  side  of  the  question 
to  which  Prof.  Agassiz,  Van  Amringe,  Dr.  S.  G.  Morton,  and 
others,  give  their  sanction,  in  variously  modified  forms.  The  argu- 
ments of  authors  on  both  sides  will  be  given  as  impartially  as  we  are 
able  to  do  it,  and  as  fully  as  space  will  permit ;  so  that  the  reader 
may  form  his  own  opinion.  A  sketch  of  the  views  of  those  who 
are  not  committed  to  either  side  will  also  be  added,  so  that  informa- 
tion from  all  sources  may  aid  in  the  formation  of  a  just  opinion. 


Lawrence,  following  the  classification  of  Blumenbach,  divides 
Man  into  five  varieties,  viz.,  the  Caucasian,  the  Mongolian,  the  Ethi- 
opian, the  American,  and  the  Malay ;  wifh  the  following  characters  : 

1.  The  Caucasian  variety  (to  which  we  belong)  is  so  named,  from 
Mt.  Caucasus,  as  in  its  neighborhood  is  found  the  supposed  typical 
race  of  the  Circassians  and  Georgians.  It  includes  the  following 
nations,  ancient  and  modern — the  Assyrians,  Medes,  Persians,  Jews, 
Egyptians,  Chaldeans,  Georgians,  Circassians,  Armenians,  Turks, 
Arabs,  Syrians,  Afghans,  Hindoos  of  high  caste,  Moors  of  Northern 


16  INTRODUCTION. 

Africa,  Greeks  and  Romans,  the  nations  of  modern  Europe,  (except 
the  Laplanders,)  and  their  descendants  in  tins  hemisphere  ;  in  fine, 
those  races  in  which  intellect,  both  native  and  cultivated,  has  pro- 
duced the  mightiest  results;  those  races,  whose  history  would  be  tie- 
history  of  civilization  and  of  Christianity  ;  and,  in  the  opinion  of 
many,  the  only  race  referred  to  in  the  Mosaic  account  of  creation. 

The  color  of  the  skin,  in  this  variety,  is  white;  to  this  exclusively 
belongs  the  soft-spreading  blush,  the  faithful  index  of  the  heart,  which 
a  European  writer  has  erroneously  made  a  moral  as  well  as  a  physi- 
cal difference  between  the  races ;  to  this  race  belongs  redness  of  the 
cheeks.  The  hair  varies  in  color  from  black  to  flaxen,  is  soft  in 
quality  and  abundant.  The  color  of  the  eyes  generally  follows  that 
of  the  skin  and  hair,  depending,  as  it  does,  on  the  amount  of  color- 
ing matter  which  is  usually  distributed  equally  in  these  different 
parts. 

The  face  is  small,  oval,  and  almost  perpendicular;  the  features 
distinct ;  the  forehead  lofty  and  broad  ;  the  nose  narrow  and  rather 
aquiline  ;  the  mouth  small ;  the  lips  thin  and  slightly  turned  out ; 
the  front  teeth  in  both  jaws  perpendicular  ;  the  dim  full  and  rounded. 
This  is  the  face  which  agrees  best  with  our  ideas  of  beauty,  being 
the  happy  mean  between  the  laterally  expanded  face  of  the  Mongo- 
lian and  the  lengthened  face  of  the  Negro. 

Of  the  facial  angle,  and  the  norma  verticalis  of  Blumenbach,  wo 
shall  defer  the  description  till  we  give  Dr.  Prichard's  views,  that  the 
reader  may  not  be  wearied  by  too  much  repetition.  Though  the 
facial  angle  is  of  little  value  in  individual  skulls,  yet,  in  comparisons 
of  the  races,  it  may  give  a  very  good  idea  of  their  intellectual  power. 
Those  animals  which  have  the  longest  snouts  are  always  considered 
the  most  stupid  and  gluttonous.  When  we  descend  to  reptiles  and 
fishes,  the  jaws  seem  to  constitute  almost  all  the  head,  and  these  are 
the  most  voracious  of  animals;  they  appear  to  live  onlv  to  eat.  On 
the  other  hand,  a  great  degree  of  intelligence  is  attributed  to  the  ele- 
phant from  his  well-marked  forehead  ;  and  the  solemn  owl  is  made 
the  companion  of  the  goddess  of  wisdom,  for  a  similar  appearance  ; 
but  these  semblances  do  not  depend  on  any  greater  development  of 
the  brain.  Intelligent  Man,  whose  animal  propensities  are  subordi- 
nate, has  a  cranium  much  larger  than  his  face;  even  among  men,  we 
instinctively  regard  him  as  stupid  and  sensual,  whose  face  is  very 
prominent  and  whose  forehead  is  receding ;  the  advancement  of  the 
forehead  towards  the  line  of  the  face  is  always  understood  by  artists 
as  representing  the  noble  and  elevated  character.  As  we  descend  in 
the  animal  scale  we  find  the  face  increasing  at  the  expense  of  the 
aranium. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

In  the  Caucasian  race  the  facial  angle  is  from  80°  to  85°  ;  thence 
it  decreases  in  the  other  varieties  of  Man  as  low  as  C>5°,  in  the  nor- 
mal condition  ;  in  many  of  the  ancient  statues  the  facial  angle  is  90°, 
and  in  one  even  100°,  which  last  never  existed  in  nature  except  in 
disease.  In  children  the  forehead  is  more  prominent  than  in  the 
adult,  being  usually  90°  ;  thus  is  explained  their  almost  uniformly 
pleasing  countenances,  and  also  the  diminution  of  their  beauty  as 
age  advances.  The  Caucasian  race,  whether  we  judge  it  by  the 
facial  angle,  the  norma  verticalis,  or  the  basal  view  of  Mr.  Owen,  is 
placed  above  the  other  races. 

Three  great  divisions  are  recognized  in  the  Caucasian  race.  The 
Celtic  division,  comprising  the  present  inhabitants  of  Western 
Europe,  (except  the  English,)  and  the  ancient  Britons,  Welch, 
rish,  and  Scotch.  The  Germanic  division,  comprising  Germans, 
ancient  and  modern,  Danes,  Swedes,  Norwegians,  Saxons,  and 
English,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  Netherlands  and  Iceland.  The 
Sclavonic  division,  comprising  the  Russians,  Poles,  Bohemians,  Cos- 
sacks, the  inhabitants  of  part  of  Western  Asia  and  Northern 
Africa. 

2.  The  Mongolian  race  seems  to  have  originated  from  the  central 
plains  of  Asia,  whence  they  are  supposed  to  have  wandered  in  all 
directions,  into  the  northern  parts  of  Europe  and  America,  and  per- 
haps into  the  southern  parts  of  Afriea.  It  comprises,  according  to 
Lawrence,  the  Mongols,  Kalmucks,  Koreans,  Chinese,  Japanese; 
the  inhabitants  of  Thibet,  Tonquin,  Siam,  Cochin  ('lima,  the  Him- 
alaya Mountains,  Hindostan,  Ceylon  ;  the  ECainschatdales,  Asiatic  Rus- 
sians, Finns  ami  Laplanders,  and  the  Esquimaux  of  Arctic  America. 
The  ancient  Huns  belonged  to  this  variety  ;  these,  witli  Attila  at 
their  head,  penetrated  to  the  very  centre  of  Europe  ;  the  famous 
'/  'nghis  Khan  and  Tamerlane  belonged  to  this  race,  which  has 
always  been  nomadic  and  predatory. 

The  color  of  th"  Mongolian  skin  is  olive  yellow  ;  the  eyes  dark, 
the  hair  black,  straight,  and  thin  ;  with  very  little  if  any  heard,  eye- 
brows, or  eye-lashes;  the  face  is  broad  and  Battened;  the  features 
not  very  distinct  ;  the  space  between  the  eyes  broad  and  flat;  the 
orbits  large  and  open  ;  the  nose  flattened  ;  the  cheeks  high  and 
prominent;  the  opening  of  the  eye-lids  nairow,  linear,ohlique,  the 
inner  angle  the  lowest ;  chin  not  prominent ;  the  ears  and  lips  large. 
The  forehead  of  the  Mongolian  is  low  and  slanting,  allowing  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  face  to  be  seen  when  the  skull  is  viewed 
vertically  from  above  ;  the  facial  angle  is  therefore  less  than  in  the 
Caucasian.  The  cranium  is  narrower,  and  the  face  broader,  so  that 
2* 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

the  head    has  somewhal  of  a  pyramidal  form.      The  stature  is  infe- 
rior to  the  <  Caucasian. 

In  intellectual  and  moral  characters  it  is  certainly  inferior  to  tlio 
white  race.  The  Chinese  and  Japanese  have  made  considerable 
advancement  in  the  arts  of  civilization,  and  their  institution*  date 
back  to  a  remote  period  ;  but  the  very  fact  of  their  having  remained 
stationary  for  so  many  centuries  proves  an  inferior  capacity  for 
improvement. 

3.  The  Ethiopian  race  includes  the  inhabitants  of  Africa,  (exclu- 
sive of  the  northern  parts,)  and  the  imported  specimens  and  their 
descendants  in  America  and  elsewhere.  The  color  of  the  akin 
varies  from  tawny  to  jet-black.  The  iris  is  black  ;  the  hair  black, 
crispy,  generally  called  "  icool/i/,"  though  having  none  of  the  char- 
acters of  wool.  The  eyes  are  prominent,  and  the  orhits  large  ;  the 
nose  thick,  flat,  and  confounded  with  the  prominent  cheeks;  the  lips 
very  thick  and  everted  ;  the  jaws  projecting,  the  chin  receding  ;  the 
whole  face  very  much  developed,  and  the  skull  thick  and  heavy. 

The  front  of  the  head  regarded  from  above  the  face,  as  well  as 
the  forehead,  is  compressed  laterally,  so  that  the  long  diameter  of 
the  head  exceeds  that  of  the  other  varieties.  The  low  retreating 
forehead  allows  all  the  upper  part  of  the  face  to  be  seen;  the  prom- 
inence of  the  upper  jaw  diminishes  the  facial  angle  to  70°,  and  even 
65°.  The  cavity  of  the  cranium  is  diminished,  while  the  face  is 
increased  ;  the  zygomatic  arches  are  very  wide,  giving  a  large  space 
for  the  elevating  muscles  of  the  lower  jaw ;  the  opening  of  the  nose 
is  large  and  transverse  ;  the  foramen  for  the  passage  of  the  spinal 
marrow,  and  the  articulation  of  the  head  with  the  neck,  are  relatively 
posterior  to  their  position  in  the  white  races,  from  the  prolongation 
of  the  jaws  forward. 

A  slight  comparison  of  the  Negro  with  the  Caucasian  skull  suf- 
fices to  show  that  the  intellectual  portion  in  the  former  is  diminished, 
while  the  animal  portion  is  increased.  The  low  forehead  and  the 
muzzle-like  elongation  of  the  jaws  give  an  animal  aspect  to  the 
head,  which  cannot  fail  to  strike  an  unprejudiced  observer  ;  this  is 
increased  by  the  large  and  powerful  lower  jaw,  the  ample  provision  for 
muscular  insertions,  and  by  the  greater  size  of  the  cavities  destined 
for  the  reception  of  the  organs  of  smell  and  sight. 

Lawrence  alludes  to  the  opinion,  even  then  prevalent,  that  the 
Ethiopian  resembles  the  monkey  tribe  more  nearly  than  do  the  pre- 
ceding varieties.  The  size  and  direction  of  the  face,  the  promi- 
nence of  the  jaws,  the  flatness  of  the  nose,  the  greater  length  of  the 
forearm  compared  with  the  arm,  the  narrow  and  tapering  fingers, 
render  the  comparison  obvious.     But  even   supposing  that  this  race 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

is  the  lowest  type  of  man,  it  is  none  the  less  human,  and  far  more 
separated  from  the  highest  monkey  than  the  highest  man,  by  the 
erect  attitude,  by  the  possession  of  two  hands,  by  a  slower  develop- 
ment, by  the  powers  of  reason  and  speech.  The  anatomical  struct- 
ure of  the  spine  renders  it  as  impossible  for  a  monkey  to  assume  the 
erect  posture,  for  any  length  of  time,  as  for  a  man  to  go  on  all 
fours.  That  there  were  men,  who  were  called  philosophers,  fools 
enough  to  maintain  that  the  natural  position  of  man  was  that  of 
a  quadruped,  is  thus  ridiculed  in  Butler's  Hudibras  [Part  2nd, 
Canto  1st]  :  — 

•    Next  it  appears  I  am  no  horse, 
That  I  can  argua  and  discourse, 
Have  hut  two  letjs,  and  ne'er  a  tail. 
Quoth  she.  that  nothing  will  avail, 
For  some  philosophers  of  late  here 
Write  men  have  four  legs  hy  nature, 
And  that  'tis  custom  makes  them  go 
Erroneously  upon  two." 

A  French  savant  has  recently  described,  before  the  Academy  of 
Sciences,  a  tribe  of  Negroes  in  Centra]  Africa,  as  furnishing  the  long 
desired  connecting  link  between  man  and  monkeys.  According  to 
him,  there  arc  men  who  have  not  been  sufficiently  accustomed  to  the 
sitting  posture  to  wear  off  tin-  tail,  which  he  says  projects  some 
three  or  four  inches.  This  report,  which  as  yet  is  based  upon 
the  appearance  of  a  Bingle  individual,  will  doubtless  be  explained,  if 
there  beany  foundation  for  it  in  truth,  by  some  anatomical  peculiar' 
Uy  which  can  in  no  way  he  called  a  caudal  appendage. 

4.  The  American  race  has  been  traced  by  theorists  to  many 
nations  ;  to  the  Polynesians,  the  Mongolians,  Hindoos,  Jews,  and 
Egyptians,  singly  or  combined.  Lawrence  treats  of  them  as  a  dis- 
tinct race,  ditFerinj?  from  the  others  in  physical,  moral,  and  intellect- 
ual characters.  They  inhabit  the  American  continent  from  Cape 
Horn  to  the  Arctic  regions,  and,  with  all  their  differences,  are  con- 
sidered by  him  as  one  and  the  same  race  over  this  whole  extent. 

The  color  of  the  skin  is  brown,  or  cinnamon-hucd  ;  the  iris  dark  ; 
the  hair  long,  black  and  straight ;  the  beard  scanty  ;  the  eyes  are 
deep-seated  ;  the  nose  flat,  but  prominent ;  the  lips  full  and  rounded. 
The  face  is  broad,  especially  across  the  cheeks,  which  are  promi- 
nent, but  not  so  angular  as  in  the  Mongolian  ;  the  features  are  dis- 
tinct. The  face  somewhat  resembles  the  Mongolian,  and  we  shall 
see  that  many  writers,  and  among  them  our  author,  consider  the 
Americans  as  transplanted  Mongolians. 


20  INTRODUCTION. 

The  general  shape  of  the  head  is  square ;  the  forehead  low,  but 
broad  ;  the  back  of  the  head  flattened  ;  the  top  elevated  ;  the  face 
much  developed;  the  orbitar  and  nasal  cavities  large,  indicating, 
according  to  some,  a  corresponding  acuteness  of  sight  and  smell ; 
the  jaws  are  very  strong. 

Their  curious  modes  of  deforming  the  skull  will  be  better 
described  when  speaking  of  Dr.  S.  G.  Morton's  "  Crania  Ameri- 
cana." He  maintains  that  the  ancient  skulls  from  Peru,  from  the 
tombs  of  Mexico,  and  from  the  mounds  of  the  Mississippi  and  Ohio 
valleys,  present  the  same  characters  as  the  existing  Indian  tribes ; 
and  that  this  race  is  as  aboriginal  to  America,  as  is  the  Mongolian 
to  Asia,  or  the  Ethiopian  to  Africa. 

5.  The  last  variety  mentioned  by  Blumenbach  and  Lawrence  is 
the  Malay,  inhabiting  the  Asiatic  and  Polynesian  Islands. 

The  color  of  the  skin  in  the  true  Malay  is  lipht  brown,  or  tawny  ; 
sometimes,  as  in  the  Tahitians,  very  light.  The  hair  is  black,  lonjr, 
soft  and  abundant,  —  in  the  Tahitians  almost  yellow  ;  thick  beards 
are  not  uncommon.  The  eyes  are  moderately  separated  ;  the  nose 
prominent,  but  broad  and  thickest  at  the  end  ;  in  the  words  of  Law- 
rence they  are  "  bottle-nosed  ;"  the  mouth  is  large,  the  lips  thick  ; 
the  face  broad  and  largely  developed  ;  the  jaws  prominent ;  the  fore- 
head low  and  slanting.  It  is  truly  an  amphibious  race,  and  its  home 
may  be  said  to  be  on  the  water  ;  its  extended  migrations  by  sea  have 
been  traced,  as  Dr.  Pickering  maintains,  even  to  the  western  coast 
of  North  America. 

Those  who  believe  in  the  origin  of  mankind  from  a  single  pair 
must,  of  course,  account  for  the  changes  man  has  undergone  since 
Adam. 

Climate  has  been  generally  brought  forward  to  explain  the  differ- 
ences in  color,  and  even  the  varieties  of  form.  Blumenbach  gives 
three  arguments,  of  which  Lawrence,*  who  quotes  them  in  his  work, 
says,  "  That  so  able  a  writer  could  find  no  better  proofs  in  support  of 
his  opinion,  only  shows  how  completely  unfounded  that  opinion  is." 
After  many  examples,  Lawrence  gives  the  following  conclusions  : 
That  the  differences  of  the  human  races  are  analugous  in  kind  and 
degree  to  those  of  the  breeds  of  the  domestic  animals,  and  must  be 
accounted  for  on  the  same  principles.  That  they  are  first  produced 
in  both  instances  as  native  or  congenital  varieties,  and  then  trans- 
mitted to  the  offspring.  That  the  state  of  domestication  is  the  most 
powerful  predisposing  cause  of  varieties  in  the  animal  kingdom. 

*  Lectures  on  the  Natural  History  of  Man:  by  William  La^vrence, 
F.  R.  S.     12th  Edition.     London,  1844. 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

That  climate,  situation,  food,  mode  of  life,  have  considerable  effect  in 
altering  the  constitution  of  man  and  animals  ;  but  that  this  effect  is 
confined  to  the  individual,  is  not  transmitted  by  generation,  and 
therefore  does  not  affect  the  race.  That  the  human  species,  like 
that  of  the  cow,  sheep,  horse,  and  pig,  is  single  ;  and  that  all  the 
differences  which  it  exhibits  are  to  be  regarded  merely  as  varieties. 


Dr.  Prichard,  the  most  zealous  and  learned  advocate  of  the  unity 
of  the  human  race,  commences  his  second  section*  as  follows : 
"  The  Sacred  Scriptures,  whose  testimony  is  received  by  all  men  of 
unclouded  minds  with  implicit  and  reverential  assent,  declare  that  it 
pleased  the  Almighty  Creator  to  make  of  one  blood  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  and  that  all  mankind  are  the  offspring  of  common  par- 
ents. But  there  are  writers  in  the  present  day  who  maintain  that 
this  assertion  does  not  comprehend  the  uncivilized  inhabitants  of 
remote  regions  ;  and  that  Negroes,  Hottentots,  Esquimaux,  and 
Australians,  are  not,  in  fact,  men  in  the  full  sense  of  that  term,  or 
beings  endowed  with  like  mental  faculties  as  ourselves."  These 
half-brutes,  half-men,  do  not  belong  to  what  Bory  de  Saint  Vincent 
calls  the  "  Race  Adamique  ;"  they  were  created  to  be  the  slaves  of 
the  superior  races ;  and  are  capable  of  improvement  to  an  extent 
comparable  to  that  attained  by  dogs  or  horses.  Such  men  think  it 
the  extreme  of  folly  for  England  to  have  recently  emancipated  from 
West  Indian  slavery  a  tribe  of  Negroes,  exactly  in  the  situation  for 
which  nature  designed  them.  There  are  not  a  few  in  this  country 
who  cherish,  if  they  do  not  express,  a  similar  opinion.  But  in  mat- 
ters of  scientific  inquiry,  all  considerations,  not  bearing  on  the  im- 
mediate facts  in  the  case,  must  be  set  aside  ;  the  maxim  to  follow  is 
"fiat  justitia,  mat  coelum."  "In  fact,  what  is  actually  true  it  is 
always  most  desirable  to  know,  whatever  consequences  may  arise 
from  its  admission." 

As  the  signification  of  the  word  "species"  has  been  variously 
understood,  he  defines  species  as  "  simply  tribes  of  plants  or  of  ani- 
mals which  are  certainly  known,  or  may  be  inferred,  on  satisfactory 
grounds,  to  have  descended  from  the  same  stocks,  or  from  parent- 
ages precisely  similar,  and  in  no  way  distinguished  from  each 
other."  The  principal  object  of  his  work  is  to  point  out  the  most 
important  diversities  by  which  the  genus  Man    is    separated  into 

*  The  Natural  History  of  Man:  by  James  Cowles  Prichard,  M.  D. 
London,  1313. 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

different  races,  and  to  determine  if  these  races  are  separate  species, 
or  merely  varieties  of  one  species.  Permanent  varieties,  if  we 
allow  the  existence  of  such  tribes,  come  very  mar  Bpecies,  and 
may  be  defined  as  "  races  now  displaying  characteristic  ]»  culiarities 
which  are  constantly  and  permanently  transmitted  ;"  differing  from 
species  in  that  the  peculiarities  are  not  coeval  with  the  tribi 
have  arisen  since  the  commencement  of  its  existence  :  it  is  not  un- 
likely that  many  so  called  distinct  species  of  animals  and  plants  are 
in  reality  only  permanent  varieties. 

It  has  been  laid  down  as  a  law  of  nature,  that,  in  order  to  pi 
inextricable  confusion  in  the  vegetable  and  animal  kingdoms,  the  off- 
spring of  different  species,  or  hybrids,  are  incapable  of  reproducing 
their  kind,  thus  making  hybrid  it y  a  test  of  specific  character.  Tins 
has  been  denied  by  many  naturalists,  among  others  by  Dr.  S.  G 
Morton,  of  Philadelphia,  whose  views  will  be  given  hereafter.  Ac- 
cording to  Wagner,  hybrid  plants  are  very  rarely  produced  in  a 
state  of  nature  ;  they  are  very  seldom  fruitful  among  themselves  ; 
those  holding  intermediate  places  between  the  parent  plants  are  abso- 
lutely barren,  while  those  which  nearly  resemble  one  or  the  other 
parent  are  occasionally  propagated  :  and  plants  from  different  varie- 
ties of  the  same  species  are  altogether  fertile,  while  hybrids  either 
return  to  the  original  character,  or  become  gradually  less  capable  of 
reproduction,  and  in  a  short  time  extinct.  So,  in  animals,  mules  or 
hybrids  are  produced  among  domesticated  tribes  ;  but,  except  in  a 
few  tribes  of  birds,  they  are  unknown  in  a  state  of  nature.  A  new 
breed  cannot  be  perpetuated  from  them,  and  their  offspring  can  only 
be  continued  by  returning  to  one  of  the  parent  tribes.  Warner 
believes  that  nature  has  established  the  sterility  of  hybrid  animals 
by  an  organic  impediment. 

If  these  results  are  true,  we  are  forced  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
different  races  of  men  must  be  either  incapable  of  mixing  their  stock, 
and  must  ever  be  separate  from  each  other,  or  that  these  races  belong 
to  the  same  species. 

It  is  a  fact  that  the  most  dissimilar  varieties  of  man  are  capable 
of  propagating  prolific  offspring  with  each  other.  The  Mulattoes, 
from  the  mixture  of  the  Negroes  with  Whites,  are  said  to  be  increas- 
ing in  numbers,  as  well  as  the  mixed  race  of  the  Creoles  and  the 
Negroes.  The  Griqua  Hottentots,  descended  from  the  Dutch  colo- 
nists of  South  Africa  on  one  side,  and  from  the  aboriginal  Hotten- 
tots on  the  other,  are  a  numerous  and  rapidly  increasing  race.  The 
Cafusos  of  Brazil,  so  remarkable  for  their  monstrous  heads  of  hair, 
are  known  to  have  descended  from  the  native  Americans,  mixed  with 
the  imported  Africans.      The  Papuas,  with  equally  remarkable  hair, 


INTRODUCTION.  2b 

are  a  mixture  of  the  Malay  with  the  Negro  in  New  Guinea  and 
the  neighboring  islands;  according  to  Lesson,  most  of  them  are  a 
frail  and  feeble  race.  We  hence  derive  conclusive  proof,  unless 
there  be  in  the  human  races  an  exception  to  this  admitted  law  of 
nature,  that  all  the  tribes  of  men  belong  to  one  species  and  family. 

If  we  could  compare  our  breeds  of  domestic  animals  with  their 
original  wild  stocks,  we  could  easily  ascertain  the  limits  of  variation 
in  these  breeds  ;  but  the  wild  originals  cannot  now  1m'  recognized. 
However,  in  the  animals  known  to  have  been  imported  into  America 
from  Europe  since  the  fifteenth  century,  we  have  an  abundance  of 
materials  fur  interesting  observations;  these  animals  have  greatly 
multiplied,  and  many,  running  wild  in  the  forests,  have  lost  all 
appearances  of  domestication  ;  the  wild  tribes  are  physically  differ- 
ent from  their  tame  originals,  and  there  i*  reason  to  believe  that  the 
change  is  in  the  direction  of  the  wild  stocks  from  which  the  tame 
animals  originated. 

The  hogs  of  the  forest  very  nearly  resemble  the  wild  boar  ;  their 
ears  have  become  erect  ;  their  color  has  changed  to  black ;  instead 
of  hair  and  bristles,  their  skin  is  covered  with  thick,  often  crisp  fur, 
under  which  is  sometimes  a  species  of  wool  ;  their  heads  become 
larger;  indeed,  they  are  returning  gradually  to  the  appearance  of 
the  wild  boar  of  Europe.  The  difference  between  the  skulls  of  the 
domestic  hog  and  the  wild  boar  is  as  great  as  that  between  the  Euro- 
pean and  the  Negro  skull.  The  horse,  the  ass,  the  cow,  the  sheep, 
the  goat,  the  dog,  and  gallinaceous  fowls,  show  similar  changes,  and 
a  tendency  to  return  to  the  primitive  wild  type.  Even  the  func- 
tions of  animal  life  may  be  greatly  changed  in  a  few  generations. 
It  is  not  natural  for  the  cow,  any  more  than  for  other  female  animals, 
to  yield  milk  when  she  has  no  young  to  nourish  ;  the  permanent  pro- 
duction of  milk  is  a  modified  animal  function,  produced  by  an  artifi- 
cial habit  for  several  generations.  In  Colombia,  the  practice  of 
milking  cows  having  been  laid  aside,  the  natural*  state  of  the  func- 
tion has  been  restored  ;  the  secretion  of  milk  continues  only  during 
the  suckling  of  the  calf,  and  is  only  an  occasional  phenomenon. 
Says  Roulin,  "  If  the  calf  dies,  the  milk  ceases  to  flow,  and  it  is 
only  by  keeping  him  with  his  dam  by  day  that  an  opportunity  of 
obtaining  milk  from  cows  by  night  can  be  found."  The  horses 
on  the  table  land  of  the  Cordilleras  are  taught  very  early  a  sort  of 
running  amble,  quite  different  from  their  natural  gait ;  these  horses 
become  the  sires  of  a  race  to  which  the  ambling  pace  is  natural, 
and  requires  no  teaching.  The  dogs  employed  in  hunting  the  pec- 
cary are  taught  the  peculiar  way  necessary  to  take  this  animal  ; 
their  offspring  inherit  as  an  instinct  the  lesson  of  their  fathers,  and 


24  INTRODUCTION. 

on  the  first  chase  knew  how  to  attack  the  peccary,  while  an  ordinary 
dog  is  instantly  killed  by  them.  The  barking  of  dogt  is  an  acquired 
hereditary  instinct,  supposed  to  have  originated  in  an  attempt  to  mu- 
tate the  human  voice  ;  wild  dogs,  and  domestic  breeds  become  wild, 
never  bark,  but  howl.  Cats,  which  so  disturb  civilised  commui 
by  their  midnight  "caterwaul,"  in  the  wild  state  in  Smith  Am 
are  quite  silent. 

These  well-authenticated  facts  show  to  what  extent  a  change  of 
external  conditions  may  modify  races  of  animals.  Similar  change* 
may  be  found  among  our  domesticated  breeds.  For  instance  the 
breeds  of  sheep  differ  greatly  in  different  countries  ;  but  it  is  main- 
tained that  they  all  are  varieties  of  one  species.  New  breeds  of 
sheep  are  frequently  formed,  (and  very  much  as  the  breeder  wis 
by  crossing  well-known  races,  or  individuals  having  the  peculiarities 
which  it  is  desired  should  be  transmitted  to  the  new  breed.  In  the 
same  manner,  he  says,  the  numerous  varieties  of  horses  are  without 
doubt  members  of  but  one  species;  Blumenbach  has  remarked  that 
there  is  more  difference  between  the  skulls  of  the  Neapolitan  and 
Hungarian  breeds  of  horses,  than  between  the  skulls  of  the  most 
dissimilar  forms  of  mankind.  Some  naturalists  suppose  the  dog  to 
belong  to  the  same  species  as  the  wolf;  others  derive  him  from  the 
jackal.  With  all  their  varieties,  Frederic  Cuvier  believes  the  dogs 
to  embrace  but  one  species  ;  he  observes  that  if  we  make  more  than 
one  species  w-e  must  make  at  least  fifty,  all  distinguished  by  perma- 
nent characters.  Restored  to  the  wild  state,  all  these  varieties 
approximate  to  the  type  which  may  be  supposed  to  have  belong  ><  I  to 
the  original  species.  Dogs  differ  in  stature,  in  the  shape  of  their 
ears  and  tails,  in  the  number  of  caudal  vertebrae  ;  some  have  an 
additional  claw  on  the  hind  foot,  and  an  additional  false  molar  tooth 
on  one  side  ;  the  hair  differs  in  color,  texture  and  length,  according 
to  the  climate  in  the  first  instance  ;  but  these  differences  become  per- 
manent like  the  corresponding  peculiarities  of  the  human  races  ;  the 
varieties  of  the  dog  tribe  have  become  'permanent  varieties. 

This  tendency  to  variation  he  ascribes  not  to  accident,  but  a 
"  nisus  formativus,"  a  vital  power  "  in  virtue  of  which  organiza- 
tion receives  a  peculiar  direction  from  external  circumstances."' 
Varieties  in  form  and  structure  are  found  in  the  offspring  of  the 
same  parents  which  are  transmissible,  and  thus  lay  the  foundation 
for  different  breeds  ;  but  these  variations  are  within  certain  limits, 
and  leave  unaltered  the  specific  character.  It  is  not  always  easy  to 
decide  what  the  specific  characters  are,  and  what  qualities  are  vari- 
able. The  shape  of  the  head  furnishes  the  most  remarkable  in- 
stances of  variety  and  of  characters  distinguishing  races  ;  the  length 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

and  thickness  of  the  neck  are  very  characteristic  of  breeds  of  horses  ; 
Meckel  remarks  that  the  length,  height,  and  proportional  breadth  of 
the  hinder  parts,  the  length  and  thickness  of  the  tail,  the  shape  of 
the  pelvis,  and  comparative  length  of  the  limbs,  are  characteristic 
of  different  races.  The  physiological  and  psychological  differences 
we  have  seen  are  equally  remarkable. 

Races  of  men  are  subject,  more  than  the  races  of  almost  any  ani- 
mals, to  the  varied  agencies  of  climate  ;  civilization  produces  in 
them  greater  changes  than  does  domestication  in  animals  ;  and  we 
ought,  therefore,  to  expect  as  great  diversities  among  men  as  among 
brutes,  and  indeed  far  greater,  from  the  powerful  influence  of  mind 
in  the  former. 

To  proceed  with  the  variations  of  the  human  species,  we  are  at 
first  struck  with  the  differences  of  color.  The  difference  of  color 
tas  generally  been  thought  less  important  in  the  discrimination  of 
the  races  than  varieties  in  the  form  of  the  skull  ;  but  M.  Flourens 
considers  it  more  characteristic  of  distinct  races  than  any  other 
peculiarity.  lie  displayed  before  the  French  Academy  of  Sciences 
four  distinct  layers  between  the  outer  cuticle  and  the  cutis,  viz.,  a 
cellular  and  reticular  tissue  lying  immediately  on  the  cutis;  then  a 
continuous  membrane  resembling  mucous  membrane  in  general  ;  then 
a  black  pigment,  hardly  coherent  enough  to  be  termed  a  membrane  ; 
and,  lastly,  the  interior  portion  of  the  epidermis,  which  he  divides 
into  two  lamina;.  The  second  of  these  he  considers  a  distinct 
organized  body,  existing  only  in  men  of  dark  color,  or,  at  least,  t»" 
failed  to  delect  it  in  tin'  white  races  by  the  ordinary  method  of  mac- 
eration. He  was  unable  to  find  any  membrane  in  the  white  i 
interposed  between  the  cutis  and  the  inner  coat  of  the  epidermis  ; 
this  last  being,  according  to  him,  the  seat  of  the  discoloration  of 
the  white  skin  from  exposure  to  the  sun,  as  well  as  the  seat  of  the 
brown  color  of  the  areola  mammarum.  This  diversity  he  regards 
as  a  specific  distinction,  "or  as  marking  out  the  >,'e;!;ro  and  Euro- 
pean as  separate  species  of  beings." 

The  supposition  of  M.  Flourens  will  hardly  account  for  many 
discolorations  of  the  skin  which  are  frequent  in  Europeans.  Dur- 
ing pregnancy,  the  mamma;  of  many  females  are  extensively  sur- 
rounded by  a  dark  tinge,  which  afterwards  mostly  disappears  ;  in 
some  individuals  the  dark  color  pervades  a  great  part  of  the  body  ; 
so  that,  independently  of  the  solar  heat,  certain  constitutional  condi- 
tions may  impart  to  the  white  skin  a  dark  hue  similar  to  that  nat- 
ural to  the  African  race.  On  the  other  hand,  instances  are  recorded 
(in  Philos.  Trans.,  vol.  57)  of  the  disappearance  of  the  coloring 
matter  in  Negroes,  who  have  become  as  white  as  Europeans. 
3 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

Microscopical  investigation  has  shown  that  the  skin  does  net  consist 
of  continuous  membranes,  hut  is  composed  of  several  layers  jf  cells 
not  separated  from  each  other  by  such  definite  lines.  Ilcnle  hr.s  found 
that  the  apparently  membranous  parts,  which  give  color  to  various 
surfaces,  are  also  of  a  cellular  structure,  and  not  properly  mem- 
branous; in  the  skin  of  the  Negro  he  found  numerous  irregularly 
spherical  cells  containing  the  black  pigment  to  which  the  color  is 
due  ;  they  were  most  numerous  on  those  parts  of  the  rete  which  pro- 
ject and  correspond  to  the  furrows  of  the  cutis.  Dr.  Simon,  of 
Berlin,  has  found  that  the  various  discolorations  of  the  white  skin 
depend  on  the  presence  of  similar  cells  filled  with  pigment,  and  that 
they  are  related  on  the  one  hand  to  the  normal  coloration  of  the 
Negro  skin,  and  on  the  other  to  the  disease  termed  melanosis,  in 
which  "  the  production  of  pigment  cells  keeps  pace  with  a  change' 
from  the  normal  or  healthy  state  of  organization  in  the  affected  parts." 

He  thence  concludes  that  there  is  no  organic  difference  between 
the  skin  of  the  Negro  and  the  European,  which  marks  them  as  dis- 
tinct species.  It  may  also  be  added  that  the  epidermic  tissue,  to 
which  the  horny  tissue  of  many  animals  corresponds,  and  which  is  the 
seat  of  the  variations  in  color  and  in  the  hair  of  man,  "  is  precisely 
that  part  of  the  organic  system  which  undergoes  the  most  striking  and 
even  surprising  alterations."  The  complexions  of  mankind  are  not 
permanent  characters  ;  there  are  many  changes  from  white  to  black, 
and  vice  versa,  and  both  complexions  are  seen  in  the  undoubted  prog- 
eny of  the  same  stock  ;  so  that  no  argument,  according  to  Prich- 
ard,  can  be  drawn  from  color  against  the  original  unity  of  the  human 
species. 

The  human  races  have  also  been  distinguished  by  the  color,  quality, 
and  quantity  of  the  hear ;  these  national  diversities  probably  do  not 
exceed  the  measure  of  variety  occurring  in  different  families  of  the 
same  nation.  Some  Europeans  are  said  to  have  hair  quite  as  crisp 
and  curly  as  that  of  a  Negro  ;  even  among  Negroes,  we  find  every 
rariety  from  a  so-called  "  woolly"  hair  to  curled  or  even  flowing 
hair;  the  same  is  affirmed  of  the  natives  of  the  Southern  Ocean, 
where  there  is  no  intermixture  of  races.  The  nature  of  the  Ne^ro 
hair  has  been  the  subject  of  much  discussion,  as  it  was  supposed  to 
possess  characters  indicating  a  distinct  species.  The  Negro  hair  is 
called  "  wool,"  meaning  that  it  approaches  the  wool  of  animals. 
The  fibre  of  true  wool  is  rough  on  its  surface,  and  has  a  feathered 
or  barbed  edge  ;  this  is  at  the  same  time  the  cause  of  its  felting  prop- 
erty, and  the  mark  which  distinguishes  it  from  hair.  Examined 
microscopically,  the  fibre  of  wool  generally  has  serrated  edges, 
resulting  "  from  a  structure  resembling  a  series  of  inverted  cones, 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

encircling  a  central  stem,  the  apex  of  one  cone  being  received  into 
the  base  of  the  superior  one."  Hair,  though  sometimes  rough  and 
covered  with  scales,  has  no  serrations,  or  tooth-like  projections;  it 
is  an  even-sided  tube,  smooth,  and  nearly  of  equal  calibre. 

The  hair  of  the  dark  races  is  not  wool,  but  a  curled  and  twisted 
hair ;  it  has  the  appearance  of  a  cylinder  with  a  smooth  surface ; 
the  coloring  matter  is  the  most  abundant  in  the  Negro  hair  ;  the 
Abyssinian  hair,  very  dark,  had  a  riband-like  band  running  through 
the  middle  of  the  tube,  as  did  also  the  Mulatto  hair;  European  hair 
seemed  almost  entirely  transparent,  like  an  empty  tube.  Even  if 
that  of  the  Negro  were  "  wool,"  it  would  not  prove  him  a  distinct 
species,  since  we  know  that,  in  some  tribes  of  animals,  some  of  a  spe- 
cies bear  wool,  while  others  of  the  same  species  are  covered  with  hair. 

Since  the  time  of  Camper  and  Blumenbach,  anatomists  have 
attempted  to  classify  mankind  according  to  the  shape  of  the  skull ; 
but  hardly  any  two  writers  have  agreed  as  to  the  number  of  the 
divisions  and  their  exact  limitation.  One  of  their  fundamental 
principles  seems  to  be  wrong,  viz.,  that  tribes  resembling  each  other 
in  the  shape  of  their  skulls  must  needs  be  more  nearly  related  to 
each  other  than  to  tribes  having  a  differently  formed  head.  As  sim- 
ilar causes  may  have  produced  similar  effects  on  widely  different 
people,  any  particular  anatomical  character  so  produced  can  afford 
no  proof  of  near  relationship.  If  there  be  any  such  relation  between 
the  physical  characters  of  different  tribes  and  the  chief  circumstances 
of  their  external  condition,  there  may  be  pointed  out  three  principal 
varieties,  which  are  prevalent  in  the  savage  or  hunting  tribes,  in 
the  nomadic  or  wandering  races,  and  in  the  civilized  divisions  of 
mankind.  Among  savages  and  hunters,  among  whom  are  the  lowest 
Africans  and  Australians,  the  jaws  are  prolonged  forwards,  consti- 
tuting the  prognathous  form  of  the  head  ;  among  the  wandering 
Mongolians,  we  have  broad,  lozenge-shaped  faces,  and  the  pyramidal 
skull ;  while  the  civilized  races  have  the  oval  or  elliptical  skull. 
There  are  numerous  instances  of  transition  from  one  of  these  forms 
to  another,  when  a  nation  has  changed  its  manner  of  life;  for 
instance,  the  nomadic  Turks  of  Central  Asia  have  a  strongly  marked 
pyramidal  skull,  while  their  civilized  brethren  of  the  Ottoman 
Empire  have  the  European  or  oval  form.  The  three  principal  ways 
of  viewing  the  skull  are  laterally,  vertically,  and  from  below  ;  these 
three  combined  enable  us  to  form  an  idea  of  all  its  characters. 

Camper  says,  "  The  basis  on  which  the  distinction  of  nations  is 

founded,  may  be  displayed  by  two  straight  lines  ;  one  of  which  is  to 

be  drawn  through  the  meatus  auditorius,  or  opening  of  the  ear,  to  the 

ase  of  the  nose,  and  the  other  touching  the  prominent  centre  of  the 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

forehead,  and  falling    thence  on   the  most  advancing    |  art  ol    the 
upper  jawbone,  the  head  being  viewed  in  profile."     This  givee  the 
facial  angle.     For  the  posterior  part  of  the  skull,  the  occipital 
may  be  measured  in  a  similar  manner.     Though  th  ementa 

may  be  sufficient  lor  the  physiognomist,  1 1 1 ■  v  are  not  lor  the  ■  eome- 
trician,  on  account  of  the  varying  thickness  of  the  skull,  the  i 
opment  of  the  cavities  in  the  forehead,  frontal  sinuses,  and  the  dif- 
ferent projection  of  the  teeth,  even  in  adults;  and,  moreover,  they 
only  measure  the  skull  in  one  part.  To  obviate  th.-,  Cuvier  pro- 
posed to  compare  the  areas  of  the  cranium  and  face  sawed  vertically 
from  before  backwards  ;  the  section  of  the  face  is  triangular  ;  that 
of  the  cranium  an  oval.  In  the  Caucasian  the  area  of  the  cranium 
is  lour  times  that  of  the  face  ;  in  the  Negro  the  area  of  the  face  is 
one  fifth  larger. 

To  measure  the  breadth  of  the  skull  and  the  projection  of  the 
face,  Blumenbach  proposed  the  "  norma  verticalis."  Says  he,  "  The 
best  way  of  obtaining  this  end  is  to  place  a  series  of  skulls,  with 
the  cheek-bones  on  the  same  horizontal  line,  resting  on  the  lower 
jaws;  and  then,  viewing  them  from  behind,  and  fixing  the  eye.  on 
the  vertex  of  each,  to  mark  all  the  varieties  in  the  shape  of  parts 
that  contribute  most  to  the  national  character,  whether  they  consist 
in  the  direction  of  the  maxillary  and  malar  bones,  in  the  breadth  or 
larrowness  of  the  oval  figure  presented  by  the  vertex,  or  in  the 
flattened  or  vaulted  form  of  the  frontal  bone."  Thus  compared, 
he  makes  three  varieties  in  the  vertical  view,  strongly  distinguished 
from  each  other;  the  Caucasian,  Mongolian,  and  Ethiopian. 

In  no  view  does  the  human  skull  contrast  more  strongly  with  that 
of  the  quadrumana,  than  when  its  base  is  examined,  as  suggested  by 
Mr.  Owen.  In  the  orang  the  antero-posterior  diameter  of  the  base 
is  much  longer  than  in  man  ;  the  zygomatic  arches  are  situated  also 
quite  differently.  In  all  races  of  men,  even  in  idiots,  the  whole 
zygoma  is  included  in  the  anterior  half  of  the  basis  cranii,  while  in 
the  highest  monkey  it  is  placed  in  the  middle  region  of  the  skull, 
and  occupies  about  one  third  of  the  entire  long  diameter.  The 
occipital  foramen  in  all  the  lower  animals  is  further  back  than  in  the 
human  head  ;  in  man  this  foramen  is  "  immediately  behind  a  transverse 
line  dividing  the  basis  cranii  into  two  equal  parts,  or  bisecting  the 
antero-posterior  diameter."  It  is  situated  exactly  alike  in  all  human 
races,  if  due  allowance  be  made  for  the  protuberance  of  the  jaws  in 
the  lower  types. 

In  well-formed  European  heads,  lines  drawn  from  the  zygomatic 
arches,  touching  the  temples,  and  meeting  over  the  forehead,  are 
parallel.     J3ut  in  the  pyramidal  skull,  characterized  by  great  lateral 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

projection  of  these  arches,  these  two  lines  form  with  the  basis  a  tri- 
angular figure.  Another  characteristic  in  the  face  belonging  to  the 
pyramidal  skull,  is  the  obliquity  of  the  aperture  of  the  eyelids;  this 
is  not  due  to  any  want  of  parallelism  in  the  orbits,  but  to  the  struc- 
ture of  the  lids;  the  skin  being  tightly  drawn  over  the  prominent 
malar  bones  at  the  outer  an^le  of  the  eyes,  and  smoothly  drawn  over 
the  low  nasal  bones,  gives  to  the  eye  the  appearance  of  having  the 
inner  angle  directed  downwards.  The  pyramidal  and  prognathous 
skulls  being  adapted  to  the  nomadic  and  hunter  state,  if  "  either  of 
these  were  the  original  condition  of  mankind,  then  were  the  first 
men  probably  in  form  like  the  Esquimaux  or  the  Negro." 

The  stature,  relative  size  of  the  limbs  and  trunk,  and  the  propor- 
tions of  different  parts  of  the  body,  vary  much  in  the  different 
races  of  men  ;  these  differences  have  been  considered  by  some  as 
amounting  to  specific  distinctions.  One  of  the  principal  of  these  dif- 
ferences is  found  in  the  pelvis.  Vrolik  says  it  is  difficult  to  sepa- 
rate from  the  female  Negro  pelvis  the  idea  of  d(  gradation,  so  much 
does  it  approach  the  form  in  the  Simiae  in  the  vertical  direction  of 
the  ossa  ilii  and  its  elongated  shape  ;  he  considers  the  Hottentot  pel- 
vis as  indicating  greater  "  animality  in  comparison  even  with  the 
Negro.''  Weber  has  reduced  the  forms  of  the  human  pelvis  to  four, 
the  oval,  most  frequent  in  Europeans  ;  the  fount/,  most  frequent  in 
the  American  nations;  the  square,  in  people  resembling  the  Mongo- 
lians; and  the  oblong,  or  wedge-shaped,  most  common  in  the  nations 
of  Africa.  He  thinks  these  answer  to  the  corresponding  form  of  the 
kull  in  the  several  nations.  Prichard  thinks  that  no  particulai 
lgure  is  a  permanent  characteristic  of  any  one  race. 

As  to  other  parts  of  the  skeleton,  in  some  particulars  the  less 
ivilized  races  bear  some  remote  resemblance  to  the  lower  animals. 
I  ncivilized  men,  like  uncivilized  breeds  of  animals,  have  lean,  slender, 
and  elongated  limbs.  These  lie  considers  as  mere  variations,  as  the 
same  causes  v.  Inch  produce  them  in  individuals  might  influence  a 
whole  race.  In  the  Negro  the  bones  of  the  leg  are  bent  outwards 
and  forwards  ;  the  calves  of  the  legs  are  very  high  ;  the  feet  are  flat, 
and  the  os  calcis  is  continued  in  a  straight  line  with  the  other  bones 
of  the  foot,  and  is  more  prominent  behind  ;  the  length  of  the  fore- 
arm is  also  relatively  greater;  but  these  differences  are  said  to  be  no 
greater  than  arc  observed  every  day  in  individuals  of  any  race. 
Prichard  divides  the  human  races  principally  according  to  the  rela- 
tions of  their  languages,  which  of  all  endowments  "  seem  to  be  the 
most  permanently  retained,  and  can  be  shown  in  many  cases  to  have 
survived  even  very  considerable  changes  in  physical  and  moral  char- 
acters." The  system  adopted  by  Cuvier  referred  the  original  seats 
3* 


80  INTBODUCnON. 

of  the  human  race  to  Certain  lofty  mountain  chains.  The  birth-place 
of  the  men  who  peopled  Europe  and  Western  Asia  ia  supposed  to 
have  been  Mount  Caucasus ;  hence  the  term  "Cauca  ipplied 

to  them.  The  nations  of  Eastern  Asia  were  derived  from  the  neigh- 
borhood iif  .Mount  Altai;  and  the  African  Negroes  from  the  southern 
face  of  the  chain  of  Mount  Alias.  The  tradition  in  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  places  the  birth-place  of  mankind  on  the  banks  of  lour 
great  rivers,  two  of  which  have  been  recognized  as  the  Tigris  and 
Euphrates,  in  a  land  rich  in  animal  and  vegetable  productions. 
Prichard  recognizes  three  great  centres  of  the  earliest  civilization  of 
the  human  race,  comprising  most  of  the  tribes  known  to  antiquity. 
"  In  one  of  these,  the  Semitic  or  Syro-Arabian  nations  exchanged 
the  simple  habits  of  wandering  shepherds  for  the  splendor  and  lux- 
ury of  Nineveh  and  Babylon.  In  a  second,  the  Indo-European  or 
lapctic  people  brought  to  perfection  the  most  elaborate  of  human 
dialects,  destined  to  become,  in  after  times  and  under  different  modi- 
fications, the  mother  tongue  of  the  nations  of  Europe.  In  a  third, 
the  land  of  Ilarn,  watered  by  the  Nile,  were  invented  hieroglyphics] 
literature  and  the  arts,  in  which  Egypt  far  surpassed  all  the  rest  of 
the  world  in  the  earlier  ages  of  history." 

These  three  divisions  do  not  correspond  to  the  three  departments 
of  mankind  as  indicated  by  the  form  of  the  skull  ;  the  former  were 
neither  nomades  nor  savages,  but  were  more  or  less  civilized  and 
had  the  corresponding  oval  form  of  skull.  Yet  he  would  tr 
gradual  deviation  from  this  type  to  the  lower,  e.  g.,  from  the  Egyp- 
tian to  the  Negro,  without  any  decided  interruption  ;  though  he 
admits  "  that  these  approximations  require  further  inquiry  and  more 
precise  proofs  before  they  can  be  admitted  as  furnishing  the  ground- 
work of  an  ethnological  system." 

His  Syro-Arabian  or  Semitic  race  includes  the  Syrians,  the  Jews, 
the  Arabs.  According  to  Baron  Larrey,  the  Arabian  race  fur- 
nishes the  most  perfect  type  of  the  human  head,  and  he  believes 
"  that  the  cradle  of  the  human  family  is  to  be  found  in  the  country  of 
this  race." 

The  Egyptian  or  Hamitic  race  contrasts  strongly  with  the  Se- 
mitic, the  latter  being  full  of  energy  and  restless  activity,  the  former 
living  in  luxurious  ease  on  the  rich  soil  watered  by  the  Nile.  They 
are  equally  different  in  their  intellectual  and  moral  characters  ;  the 
one  still  living  in  its  energetic  and  ever-roving  descendants,  the 
«ther  reposing  in  its  own  land,  which  is  little  else  than  a  vast 
sepulchre.  According  to  Denon,  the  Egyptians  display  the  "  gen- 
uine African  character,  of  which  the  Negro  is  the  exaggerated  and 
extreme  representation."    Some  have  called  the  Egyptians  Negroes  ; 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

others  think  them  Caucasians  ;  Pri  hard  coincides  with  Denon,  as 
above  quoted.  More  respecting  this  race  will  be  given  when  speak- 
ing of  Dr.  Morton's  Crania  Egyptiaca. 

The  Indo-European,  Japetic,  or  Arian  race,  includes  the  Hin- 
doos, Persians,  Afghans,  Baluchi  and  Brahui,  the  Kurds,  the 
Armenians,  and  the  Ossetines.  It  comprises  also  the  numerous  and 
far-spread  colonies  of  the  race  in  Europe  and  America.  Prichard 
believes  that  the  Arian  race,  on  their  arrival  in  Europe,  found  the 
country  already  occupied  by  what  he  terms  "  Allophylian"  nations; 
for  instance,  the  Celts  found  Spain  inhabited  by  the  Iberian  tribes, 
who  preserved  the  possession  of  the  Pyrenean  chain  at  the  era  of 
the  Roman  conquest,  and  whose  descendants,  even  now,  are  found 
there  in  the  Basque  mountaineers,  orBiscayans,  (according  to  Hum- 
boldt) ;  so  the  Northmen  found  the  countries  on  the  Baltic  coast 
occupied  by  nations  of  the  Finnish  or  Ugriat)  race,  of  the  same  east- 
ern origin  as  themselves,  but  emigrants  of  an  earlier 

The  five  great  Nomadic  races   inhabit    the    great  central  re 
of  High  Asia,  and  belong  to  the   Mongolian  division  of  authors  ; 
they  are  all  characterized  by  the  pyramidal  form  of  the  skull. 

These  live  races  are,  the  Ugrian  race,  in  the  north-west,  of  which 
the  Finns  and  Lappes,  the  Tschudes,  tin1  Ugrians,  (whence  the 
name  Ogre,  the  prototype  of  fabled  savage  monsters,)  tie-  Ostiaks  of 
the  Obi,  (from  whom  are  descended  the  Magyars,  or  Hungarians 
of  central  Europe.)  and  other  Siberian  tribes,  are  varieties. 

The  Turkish  race,  often  erroneously  called  Tartars,  formerly 
occupied  all  the  countries  from  the  north  of  China  to  Mount  Altai. 
The  present  Turkish  nations  display  two  differenl  types  of  coun- 
tenance ;  the  Nomadic  tribes,  in  the  ancient  abodes  of  the  race,  dis- 
play strongly  the  Mongolian  type,  while  the  Turks  of  the  Ottoman 
empire  have  very  nearly  the  European  form.  Some  writers  have 
explained  this  change  by  an  intermixture  of  races,  which  Prichard 
thinks  is  contradicted  by  the  evidence  of  their  langua 

The  Mongolian  race,  including  the  Kalmuks,  strongly  displays 
the  broad  face  and  pyramidal  skull  of  this  division  of  the  human 
family.  The  Tungusians  wander  over  the  mountainous  regions 
which  extend  from  Lake  Baikal  to  the  Sea  of  Okhotsk  ;  within  the 
Chinese  dominions  they  are  called  Mantschu.  According  to  Kla- 
proth,  the  languages  of  the  Tungusians,  Mongolians,  and  Turks 
have  a  remarkable  connection  between  them  ;  and  the  Marschu, 
in  particular,  corresponds  singularly  in  its  vocabulary  with  other 
Asiatic,  and  still  more  with  European,  languages.  The  Bhotiyahs 
are  a  race  often  termed  Tartars,  inhabiting  a  great  part  of  Tibet  and 
the  Hirnalayai  chain.      They  are  Buddhist,  and  have  peculiar  mar- 


32  r-  rRODl  •  HON. 

nage  customs;  one  woman  is  generally  the  wife  <>f  a  whole  family 
of  brothers;  this  appears  "less  injurious  in  a  physical  point  of 
view  than  the  more  frequent  bojtI  "t   polygamy."     A   vast  amount 

of  literature  [s  preserved  m  their  language  in  the  mon 
Tibet 

'I'd  the  nations  with  pyramidal  skulls  belong  the  races  bordering 
on  the  Arctic  Ocean,  which  are  styled  [chthyophagi,  or  Fishing 
Tribes,  which  sufficiently  describes  ilieir  habits  of  life.  'I  bey 
include  the  Namollos  of  the  north-easl  of  Asia  and  the  Aleutian 
islands,  akin  to  the  Esquimaux  of  America,  the  Koriaks,  tin' 
Kamtschatkans,  the  Yukagiri  of  Eastern  Siberia,  the  Samoiedi 
the  Kiinlians.  To  this  division  also  belong  the  Koreans,  the  Chi- 
nese, and  the  Japanese;  the  races  of  the  Indo-Chinese  peninsula 
beyond  the  Ganges; — the  aboriginal  races  of  Iudia  distinct  from  the 
Hindoos,  (who  belong  to  the  Arabian  stuck.)  and  inhabiting  their 
present  localities  long  before  the  latter  passed  the  river  Indus;  viz., 
the  Singhalese,  comprising  all  the  race-  of  Ceylon,  except  the 
Tamulian ;  the  Tamulians,  inhabiting  part  of  Ceylon,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  Dekhan  or  Indian  Peninsula,  and  the  Parbatya, 
or  mountain  tribes  of  the  Dekhan. 

Among  the  "  Allophylian"  races,  inhabiting  mountains  difficult 
of  access,  in  the  midst  of  regions  long  since  conquered  by  the  Ara- 
bian  and  Syro-Arabian  races,  may  be  mentioned  the  Caucasians, 
inhabiting  to  this  day  the  chain  of  Caucasus,  and  successfully 
ing  all  the  attempts  of  the  Russians  to  conquer  them  :  they  are 
mostly  people  of  European  features  and  form.  The  Iberians  of  the 
Pyrenees  have  been  already  alluded  to  ;  to  these  may  he  added  the 
Lybians  and  the  Berbers  of  the  Northern  Atlas,  also  extended  to  the 
Canary  Islands,  under  the  name  of  "  Guanches,*'  whose  custom  of 
embalming  their  dead  and  depositing  them  in  catacombs  reminds  us 
of  the  ancient  Egyptians,  though  the  embalming  process  was 
different. 

In  his  introductory  remarks  on  the  African  races,  Prichard  says, 
"  If  we  trace  the  intervening  countries  between  Egypt  and  Sene- 
gambia,  and  carefully  note  the  physical  qualities  of  the  inhabitants, 
we  shall  have  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  almost  every  degree  or 
stage  of  deviation  successively  displayed,  and  showing  a  gradual 
transition  from  the  characters  of  the  Egyptian  to  those  of  the  Negro, 
without  any  broadly  marked  line  of  abrupt  separation.  The  char- 
acteristic type  of  one  division  of  the  human  species  here  passes  into 
another,  and  that  by  almost  imperceptible  degrees." 

The  countries  above  Egypt  are  inhabited  by  two  races,  one 
aboriginal,  or  the  Nubians  of  the  Red  Sea,  ani  the  other  foreign,  or 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

the  Nubians  of  the  Nile;  the  color  of  the  former,  and  their  hair,  is 
different  from  that  of  the  Negro  ;  they  are  a  handsome  people,  of 
fine  form  and  features;  the  latter  are  supposed  to  be  the  descend- 
antsofthe  Nobatae,  "brought  fifteen  centuries  ago  from  art  oasis  in  the 
rn  country,  by  Diocletian,  to  inhabit  the  valley  of  the  Nile;1' 
Prichard  thinks  they  furnish  an  instance  of  the  transition  from  the 
Negro  to  the  ancient  Egyptians,  though  be  admits  that  the  evidence 
is  upen  to  many  sources  of  fallacy. 

The  Abyssinians,  a  fine,  dark,  but  not  Ni  _r:'"  people,  are  inter- 
esting, as  having  preserved  alone,  "in  the  heart  of  Africa,  and  in 
the  midst  of  Moslem  and  Pagan  nations,  its  peculiar  literature,  and 
cient  Christian  Church  ;"  it  has  also  extensive  remains  of  a 
wide-spread  Judaism,  and  a  language  approaching,  more  nearly  than 
any  living  tongue,  to  the  pure  Hebrew.  Abyssinia  has  been  overrun 
lately  by  the  Gal  la,  a  barbarous  people,  who  approach  more  nearly 
to  the  Negro  type. 

Of  the   black  races  of  the  interior  of  Africa,  the  principal  are  the 

imbian   nations,   viz.,   the  Mandingos,    remarkable   for  their 

industry    and    energy  of  character,  and  who  carry    on    the  principal 

traffic  of  northern   Africa,  and  the  Fulahs,  who  are  supposed  by 

some  to  be  an  onset  of  the  Polynesian  race. 

The  true  Negro  characters  are  most  strongly  displayed  on  the 
sea-coast,  "  which  encircles  the  projecting  region  of  Western  Africa, 
to  the  inmost  angle  of  the  Bight  at  Benin  ;"'  the  region  which  has 
been  the  centre  of  the  slave-trade,  and  whose  inhabitants  are  reduced 
to  the  lowest  physical  and  moral  degradation.  One  peculiarity  of 
the  African  cranium  is  said  to  be  that  "  the  sphenoidal  bone  fails  to 
reach  the  parietal  bonus,  so  that  the  coronal  suture,  instead  of 
impinging  upon  the  sphenoidal,  as  it  does  in  most  European  heads, 
and  in  the  human  cranium  in  general,  joins  the  margin  of  the  tem- 
poral bone."  This  peculiarity  has  been  given  as  a  distinguishing 
mark  between  the  orang  and  the  chimpanz£,  but  it  is  by  no  means 
constant. 

In  the  vast  regions  of  South  Africa,  in  a  country  analogous  to  the 
high  region  of  Eastern  Asia,  we  find  nations  which  may  be  com- 
pared with  the  Nomadic  Mongolian  races.  The  Hottentots,  and 
il  _i r  oppressed  descendants,  the  Bushmen,  in  the  width  of  their 
orbits,  and  their  distance  from  each  other,  in  the  form  of  the  eye, 
the  prominent  cheek-bones,  and  the  large  size  of  the  occipital  fora- 
men, resemble  the  Chinese  and  the  Northern  Asiatics,  and  even  the 
Esquimaux. 

The  warlike  Kafirs,  to  the  north  of  the  Hottentots,  are  said  to 
bave  the    high  forehead  and  prominent  nose  of  the  European,  the 


:J4  INTRODUCTION. 

•hick  lips  of  the  Negro,  and  the  high  cheek-bones  <>f  the  Hottentot. 
\  i  rv  likely  they  may  he  a  mixed  race. 

The  Mozambique  tribe*  resemble  the  Kafirs,  and,  were  it  not  for 
their  black  color  and  woolly  hair,  would  be  a  handsome  race.  The 
African  nations  between  Cape  Lopez  and  ('ape  Negro  are  true 
Negroes,  though  some  of  their  skulls  have  lees  than  usual  of  the 
prognathous  character,  and  more  of  the  pyramidal  form. 

The  nations  of  Africa,  limited  to  those  with  woolly  hair,  <h>  not 
agree  in  the  form  of  the  skull,  and  cannot  be  >educ  d  to  any  particu- 
lar stock  or  number  of  races. 

The  races  ofOceanica  he  divides  into  »hree  '  ilayo- 

Polynesian,  comprising  a  family  of  nations  whose  Dear  affinity  has 
been   established   by   Humboldt  ;    the    Pelagian    Negroes,  <»t'  dai* 
complexion   and   crisp  hair,  more  or  less   resembling  African   Nv 
;   and    the    Alforas,  of  dark  color,   lank  hair,  and 

prognathous  heads,"  including  the  natives  of  Australia.     '■'. 
is   the   physic:*'  difference   between  these  nations,   Prichard  thinks 
there  is  full  proov"  of  unity  of  descent  in    the  whole  class,  and  attrib- 
utes their  diversities  to  fponianeotu  variation.   This,  without  settling, 
only  postpones  the  difficulty. 

'The  first  group  contains  the  Malays  proper,  a  people  of  short 
stature  and  slender  limbs,  with  flal  faces,  and  features  resembling 
the  Chinese,  though  their  complexion  is  darker;  the  Polynesians,  of 
whom  Lesson  considers  the  Tahitiana  as  the  type  ;  handsomi 
whose  heads  might  be  called  European,  were  it  nut  for  the  spread- 
ing out  of  the  nostrils,  and  the  too  ereat  thickness  of  the  lips  :  and 
the  natives  of  Madagascar,  some  of  whose  tribes  approximate  t  be 
European  character  of  the  Polynesians. 

The  second  group  of  Pelagian  Negroes  occupies  the  interior  t 
many  of  the  islands  of  the  Indian  Archipelago  :  those  of  the  Philip- 
pine Islands  inhabit  the  mountains,  and  resemble  the  nations  of 
Guinea,  wandering  about  like  beasts,  and  supporting  themselves  by 
rruits  of  spontaneous  growth  ;  the  natives  of  Van  Diemen's  Land. 
v>r  Tasmanians,  belong  to  this  <rroup.  and  have  the  compressed  and 
elongated  skull   and   prognathous  jaws   of  the  Ne<rro. 

The  third  group,  the  Alforians,  inhabits  the  interior  of 
Guinea  and  many  of  the  larger  islands  to  the  southward  of  the 
Indian  Ocean  ;  those  of  New  Guinea,  according  to  Lesson,  have 
"  flat  noses,  eheek-rones  projecting,  larpe  eyes,  prominent  teeth, 
long  and  slender  legs,  very  black  and  thick  hair,  rough  and  shining, 
without  being  woolly ;  their  beards  coarse  and  thick,  and  an 
excessive  stupidity  stamped  upon  their  countenances."  The  tribes 
of  the  north-east  of  Borneo  are  a  savage  and  piratical  race,  eating 


INTRODUCTION.  85 

the  flesh  of  their  enemies.  Among  the  inhabits,  ts  of  the  eastern 
isles,  a  singular  custom  is  the  necessity  for  every  persor,  some 
time  in  his  life,  to  shed  human  blood  ;  and  generally  no  person  can 
marry  till  he  can  show  the  skull  of  a  human  victim.  The  Austra- 
lians are  supposed  to  belong  to  this  group  ;  they  resemble,  in  the 
form  of  their  skulls,  the  Tasmaniana  ;  they  are  a  lean  and  balf- 
qtarved  race,  with  disproportioned  size  of  head  and  limbs,  if  the 
representations  taken  from  the  atlas  ofM.  d'Urville  are  correct. 

The  American  nations  show  characters  which  are  common  to  all, 
and  exhibit  strong  proofs  of  a  community  of  origin,  and  of  very 
ancient  relationship.   As  they  probably  existed  rate  depart- 

ment from  the  earliest  ages  of  the  world,  we  cannot  expect  to  find 
proofs  of  their  derivation  from  any  tribes  of  the  old  World. 
Though  they  have  been  called  "  Red  Men,"  there  are  tribes  equally 
red,  he  says,  in  Africa  and  Polynesia.  Anatomists  have  described 
an  American  form  of  the  skull,  which  he  thinks  incorrect,  and 
foui  led  on  the  study  of  a  few  well-marked  tribes.  The  hah 
these  nations  are  equally  difS  rent  ;  some  are  hunters,  some  fisher- 
men, some  nomadic,  others  cultivators  of  the  earth  In  lure  the  arrival 

of  Europeans.  The  most  decisive  evidence  of  their  relationship  is 
in  the  characteristic  structure  of  their  languages.  Says  Humboldt, 
11  In   Lmerica,  from  the  country  of  the  Esquimaux  to  the  banks  of 

the  Orinoko,  and  again,  from  these  torrid  banks  to  the  frozen  cli- 
mate of  the  straits  of  Magellan,  mother  tongues  entirely  different 
with  regard  to  their  routs,  have  the  same  physiognomy."  This 
remark  of  Humboldt  has  been  confirmed  by  Mr.  Gallatin,  who  says 

thai  all  the  languages  of  the  native  inhabitants  of  America,  from  the 
Arctic  Ocean  to  (ape  Horn,  have  a  distinct  character  common  to 
all,  ami  differing  from  any  of  those  of  the  other  continent  with 
which  we  are  most  familiar.  Du  Ponceau  includes  even  the 
Esquimaux  among  the  American  languag 

Remarkable  mural  and  social  trans  distinguish  the  American  race 
from  the  races  of  the  Old  World.  Dr.  .Martins  believes  that  the 
can  nations  are  not  living  in  the  primitive  simplicity  of 
nature,  but  that  tiny  arc  the  remains  of  a  people  once  in  a  high  state 
of  civilization  and  mental  improvement,  and  now  in  a  state  of  decline 
and  degradation  ;  this  he  infers  from  the  remains  of  ancient  institu- 
tions of  government,  of  religion,  and  social  refinements. 

It  is  probable  that  the  Mexican   tribes,  Toltecs  and   Aztecs,  were 
one    race,  and  that  they  ascended  the  central   plain   of  Anahuae,  in 
the  seventh   century,  from  countries  lying  to   the  north,  by  su 
sive    arrivals    for    a    long     period.      These    nations    were    highly 
cultivated   in  the   arts,  though   their  moral  condition  seems  to  have 


36  INTHOM'I; 

been  very  low.     More  of  them,  when  ■peaking  of  I'r.   Morton's 
( irania  Americana. 

Before  the  arrival  of  tlie  Mexican  foreigners,  this  plain 
inhabited  l>v  races,  some  civilized  and  some  barbarous,  who  hate 
left  behind  them  the  splendid  ruins  <>f  Palenque.  Ainu.::  these  were 
the  Tarascas,  the  Othomi,  the  Totonacs,  and  the  Huaxtecas.  The 
Othomi  were  ;i  remarkable  people,  from  the  circumstance  that, 
while  all  other   known  lac  America  are  polysyllabic,  they 

li;nl  ;i  monosyllabic  dialect,  resembling  the  Chinese  idiom. 

In  tlie  countries  t'>  the  eastward  of  the  Gulf  of  California, 
extending  northward  as  far  as  the  rivers  Gila  and  Colorado,  ruins 
have  been  found  in  Virions  localities,  which  are  supposed  to  be  tin? 
differenl   resting   places  of  the  Aztecs  in  their  migration   towards 
Anahuac;   th<-  farthesl  vestige  towards  the  north  of  tl, 
civilization  is  in  the  neighborhood  of  to  la,  which  flows 

into  the  1  i  1 « »  <  lolorado. 

Among  the  aborigines  of  North   America  there  are  only  two 
races  which  can  l>c  ti  I     itinent,  from  th 

the  Atlantic  Ocean ;  these  are  the  two  northern  nations  of  the  Esqui- 
i  and  the  V.thapascas.  The  Esquimaux,  subsisting  principally 
on  what  they  <>!>t  tin  from  the  sea,  up-  rarely  found  more  than  one 
hundred  miles  from  the  coast;  they  inhabit  America,  chiefly  north  of 
the  60°  of  north  latitude,  from  the  east  coast  of  <  Ireenland,  in  Ion 
20°,  to  Behring's  Straits,  in  longitude  167°  west;  they  occupy  an 
extent  of  coast  of  five  thousand  four  hundred  miles  ;  they  have  the 
Mongolian  cast  of  countenance.  The  Athapascan,  <>r  Chepewyans, 
extend  from  the  western  shore  of  Hudson's  Bay,  across  thi  I 
ncnt  to  the  Pacific  ;  t lit? i r  southern  boundary  is  Churchill  river, 
which  falls  into  Hudson's  Bay  ;  they  atrree  in  dress  and  manners, 
according  to  Mackenzie,  with  the  Eastern  Asiatics. 

The  greater  part  of  Canada,  and  the  United  Stales  east  of  the 
Mississippi,  at  the  time  of  its  discovery,  was  inhabited  by  two  prin- 
cipal races,  the  Algonquin-Lenape  and  the  Iroquois,  or  Hurons  ; 
both  were  divided  into  a  great  number  of  tribes,  which  recognized, 
however,  their  kindred  with  each  other.  The  limits  of  the  former 
were,  in  general  terms,  Churchill  river  on  the  North  ;  the  Atlantic 
coast  on  the  east,  from  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence  to  Cape  Hat- 
teras  ;  on  the  south,  an  irregular  line  drawn  from  Cape  Hatteras  to 
the  confluence  of  the  Ohio  with  the  Mississippi  ;  and,  on  the 
the  Mississippi  river.  The  Iroquois,  always  at  war  with  the  for- 
mer, consisted  of  two  bodies  —  the  northern,  entirely  surrounded  by 
the  Lenapian  tribes,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Lake  Huron  ;  the  south- 
ern were  the  Tuscaroras,  in  Virginia  and  North  Carolina. 


ENTBODUCTJ  37 

To  the  southward  were  the  Alleghanian  races,  many  of  whom 
have  become  extinct;  among  them  were  the  Cherokees,  the  Choc- 
taws,  the  tribes  of  t!  mfederacy,  Seminoles,  Natchez,  and 

others.      These  were   the  nations   among  whom    Adair  thought   that 

'_Mii/."il  the  institutions  of  Judaism,  such  as  a  cityofrefi 
temple  where  the  sacred  fire  was  continually  kept  burning,  &o. 

To  the  west  of  the  Mississippi  are  the  Sioux  ami  Pawnees;  Mr. 
Gallatin  divides  the  Smux  into  four  departments,  hut  all  of  one  kin- 
dred, from  the  evidence  of  language  ;  these  an-  the  Winebagos,  the 
Dahcotas,  the  Minetari,  and  the  I  I  There  arc  two  natii 

Pawnees,  the  Pawnees  proper,  and  the  Ricarees  on  the  river  Platte. 
On  the  sides  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  are  the  Black-feel  and  the 
Rapid  Indians,  with  their  numerous  families;  in  their  neighborhood 
are  the  Snake  Indians;  further  south  the  Utahs  and  P  and  in 

Mi  i  co  the  Apacl 

The  races  of  the  Pacific  coast  of  North  America  may  be  di 
into  three  sections.  The  <  'alifornian  nations  inhabit  a  region  barren, 
rocky,  and  sandy,  and  deficient  in  water,  and  of  a  climate  excessively 
hot  and  drv,  exactly  opposite  in  every  respect  in  the  north-western 
tracts;  they  an-  of  a  much  deeper  hue  than  the  American  natives 
generally, so  that  La  impared  them  to  Negroes;  thej  have 

low  foreheads,  and  prominent  cheek-bones;   they  approach,  in   the 

ahai t"  the  head  and  in  features,  to  the  nations  of  New  Guinea,  and 

Hebrides.     N<  w  California  appears  to  have  a  fine  race  of  dark 
people. 

The  tribes  of  the  North-west  coast  and  the  Columbia  river,  from 
New  California  ti>  Mt.  St.  ESIias,  are  very  different  from  the  hunt- 
ing races  ot"  the  Missouri.  The  prevailing  westerly  winds  of  the 
northern  Pacific  render  the  climate  moist  and  milder  than  correspond- 
ing regions  of  the  interior.  The  northern  tribes,  from  the  Arctic 
circle  to  Vancouver's  Island,  including  the  tribes  of  the  Russian  ter- 
ritories, are  bold,  industrious,  and  ingenious;  the  females  have  the 
singular  custom  of  perforating  the  lower  lip,  and  wearing  in  it  a 
wooih-n  ornament.  The  southern  tribes  have  been  called  Nootka- 
Columbians,  winch  indicates  their  locality.  The  practice  of  flatten- 
ing the  head  in  infancy  is  universal  among  them,  but  unknown  to  the 

north.     To  this  family  belong  the  Chenooks,  the  Flat-heads,  the 

Clatsops,  and  others;  they  are  distinguished  for  their  love  of  music. 

Dtr.  Prichard  thinks  the  northern  tribes  more  interesting  than  the 

last,  as   ih.y  furnish  an  example,  according  to  him,  of  a    white 

•a Inch,  compared  with  the  black  Californians,  bears 

a  relation  to  climate  similar  to  the  white  Europeans  of  the  Old 

World  compared  with  the  black  Africans.     The   dioms  of  the  Noot- 

1 


38  DITR0D1 

ka-(  lolumbiana  beat  a  remote  affinity,  m  well  u  those  of  die  rmrtneni 
.  to  the  Azteca-Mexican ;  "a  fad  which  recalls  ihe  tradition 
that  the  Nahuatlacaa  originated  from  a  region  far  i *>  th«  north  ;  the 
language  of  Nootka  b)  an  strong  n  n  mblance  to  the  Mexican  in  th« 
terminations  of  words,  and  the  frequent  recurrence  oi 
sonants." 

M.  D'Orbigny  divides  the  South  American  nations  into  time 
families;  the  Andian  group,  >>r  Alpine  nations,  including  th<-  Peru- 
vians, the  Antisians,  and  the  Arancanians;  the  Brazilio-Guaraai, 
from  the  foot  of  the  Peruvian  Andes,  eastward  to  the  Atlantic, 
including  the  vast  plains  of  the  Orinoco  and  the  Amsaon;  and  the 
Mediterranean  group,  in  the  central  and  southern  parts  of  the  con- 
tinent. Of  two  and  a  half  millions  of  the  pure  aboriginal  races,  oae 
and  a  half  millions  are  Christians,  through  the  efforts  of  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries. 

The  Peruvian  family  includes  the  ln<-a  race,  the  Aymaras,  the 
Atacama,  and  the  Changos.  Of  the  Peruvians  we  shall  say  more, 
when  noticing  the  Crania  Americana.     The  [oca  ra  Q    sheas, 

an-  noted  for  a  very  great  volume  of  the  chest,  \\  bich  ia  due  to  i! 
vated  regions  in  which  they  live,  and  the  consequent  extreme  expan- 
sion of  the  air;  living  at  a  height  of  between  7. .".no  and  15,000  t  '•  <  •  t 
above  the  level  "t'  the  sea,  a  much  greater  quantity  of  such  rarefied  air 
must  be  inhaled  for  the  respiratory  functions  ;  to  effect  this,  or  in 
consequence  of  tins,  the  lungs  are  dilated,  and  the  thorax  from  infancy 
is  abnormally  developed  ;  in  the  lungs  there  is  a  kind  of  natural 
emphysema.  The  Avmaras  resemble  the  [ncss  in  physical  charac- 
ter, but  differ  from  them  entirely  in  language.  It  is  probable  that 
from  Tiaguanaco,  the  most  ancient  city  of  South  America,  and  one 
of  the  greal  cities  of  the  Avmaras.  the  religion,  the  arts,  and  the  civil- 
ization of  the  Incas  originated.  The  heads  of  the  modern  Avmaras 
display  no  trace  of  that  tlattening  of  the  skull  so  conspicuous  in  the 
tombs  around  the  lake  of  Titicaca  and  other  parts  of  the  Aymara 
country.  It  is  now  fully  proved  that  the  depressed  or  elongated  form 
of  the  skulls  is  owing  to  the  intervention  of  art ;  its  origin  was  prob- 
ably contemporaneous  with  the  reign  of  the  Incas  ;  it  appeared  to  be 
a  mark  of  honor,  as  such  deformed  skulls  were  found  in  the  largest 
and  finest  tombs. 

The  Atacamas  occupy  the  western  declivity  of  the  Peruvian  Andes, 
and  the  Changos  spread  along  the  coast  of  the  Pacific  ;  the  latter  are 
of  a  much  darker  hue,  probably  depending  on  their  ocal  situation 
by  the  sea-coast. 

The  Antisian  branch  inhabits  the  eastern  declivity  cf  the  Bolivian 
and  Peruvian  Andes,  from   13°  to   17°  south  latitude.      Living  in 


INTRODUCTION.  39 

damp  forests  rarely  penetrated  by  the  sun's  rays,  they  arc  almost 
white,  and  those  tribes  are  the  fairest  who  dwell  in  the  thickest 
woods. 

The  Araucanian  branch  defended  the  mountains  of  CI  ill  from  the 
Spaniards;  the  fishing  tribes  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  arc  referred  by 
D'Orbigny  to  the  Araucanian  r 

Of  the  Mediterranean  group,  the  Paiagonians  comprise  the  tribes 
of  tliis  name,  and  races  extending  from  the  Straits  of  Magellan  to 
ad  latitude,  including  the  wandering  tribes  of  the  Pampas; 
they  are  th'-  nomadic  nations  of  th<  N>  World,  fierce  warriors, 
iltnre  and  all  tin'  arts  of  civilization.  Their  com- 
plexion is  darker  than  that  "t'  most  Smith  Americans ;  they  have 
long  been  celebrated  for  their  tall  athletic  forms;  the  stature  of  the 
most  southern  is  the  greatest;  it  diminishes  as  we  go  northward. 

The  agricultural  and  fishing  tribes  inhabiting  the  central  prov- 
inces of  .South  America  arc  called  by  the  Spaniards,  Chiquitos  ami 
Moxos. 

The  vast  region  of  South   \e.  .if  the  river  Paragua 

inhabited  by  two  great  families  of  nations,  tie'  Guarani  of  Paraguay 
and  the  Tupi  of  Brazil,  and  the  Caribbees  in  the  countries  bordering 
on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  According  to  D'Orbigny,  the  following  is 
their  characteristic  description :   "Complexion,  yellowish;  stature, 

middle;   forehead t  so  much   arched   as    in   other   races;    eyes, 

obliquely  placed,  and   raised   at  tl nter  angle.'1     These  traits 

approximate  them  to  the  nomadic  races  of  II  Spix  and 

Von  Martins  thought  the  Caribbees  rery  like  the  Chinese. 

Having  thus  given  th.'  anatomical  and  external  characteristics  of 
tic  various  human  races,  and  drawn  from  them  the  conclusion  that 
all  are  varieties  of  :i  single  species,  he  adds  testimony  which  he 
thinks  corroborative  from  their  physiological  and  psychological  char- 
acters, lie  remarks  that  the  average  duration  of  human  life  is 
nearly  the  same  in  all  the  rao  - ;  al  any  rate,  there  is  the  same  ten- 

dency  to  exist  for  a  definite  lime,  which  may  he  shortened  in  some 
cases  by  peculiarities  of  climate  and  external  circumstances.  The 
progress  of  physical  development  and  tin?  periodical  changes  of  tin; 
constitution  are  the  same,  as  also  the  natural  and  vital  functions;  he 
mentions  the  temperature  of  the  body,  the  frequency  of  the  pulse,  and 
the  periodica]  changes  in  the  female,  eex.  In  all  these  great  regula- 
tions of  the  animal  economy,  mankind,  white  and  black,  are  on  the 
same  footing  by  nature.  A  comparison  of  the  races  with  respect  to 
.  nts,  (and  he  compares  the  American  and  the  black 
races  with  the  white.)  shows  that  all  have  the  same  inward  feelings, 
desires,  and  aversions  ;  the  same  susceptibility  of  improvement  in 


40  INTRODl  CTION. 

religion  and  social  condition  ;  in  a  word,  the  same  nature.  Adding 
together  the  accumulated  testimony  from  anatomy,  physiology,  and 
psychology,  he  Bays,  "  We  are  entitled  to  draw  confidently  the  con- 
clusion that  all  human  races  are  of  one  species  and  one  family." 


Dr.  Latham*  separates  the  human  species  into  three  primary 
divisions,  the  Moncolid-E,  Atlantih.v.,  and  .1  \ri  1  jp.v.  :  — the  Mon- 
gol ids  inhabiting  Asia,  Polynesia  and  America  ;  their  languages 
aptoticf  and  agglutinate  ;  their  influence  on  the  history  of  the  world 
material  rather  than  moral;  —  the  Atlantidae  inhabiting  Africa; 
their  lanrruaircs  with  an  agglutinate,  rarely  an  amalgamate,  in- 
flexion ;  their  influence  on  the  history  of  the  world  inconsiderable  ; 
—  the  Japetidse  inhabiting  Europe;  their  languages  with  amalga- 
mate inflections,  or  else  anaptotic.|  rarely  ai/rrlutiriate,  never  aptotic  ; 
their  influence  on  the  history  of  the  world  greater  than  either  of  the 
others,  moral  as  well  as  material. 

The  MONGOLIDJE   lie  divides  into, 

A.  —  The  Altaic  Mongolidae. 

B.  —  The  Dioscuriau  Mongolia's. 

C.  —  The  Oceanic  Mongolidae. 

D.  —  The  Hyperborean  Mongolidae. 

E.  —  The  Peninsular  Mongolidae. 

F.  —  The  American  Mongolids. 

G.  — The  Indian  Mongolida?. 

A.  — The  Altaic  Mongolidce,  he  divides  into  the  Seriform  and  the 
Turanian  stock. 

1.  The  Seriform  stock,  of  which  the  chief  divisions  are  the 
Chinese,  the  Tihetans,  the  Assamese,  the  Siamese,  the  Kambojians, 
the  Burmese,  the  Mo u,  and  numerous  unplaced  tribes ;  their  lan- 
guages are  generally  monosyllabic  and  aptotic.  The  Chinese 
language  is  remarkable,  from  the  fact  that  written  signs  represent 
whole  words,  instead  of  syllables  or  single  articulate  sounds.  In 
the  wild  Seriform  tribes  we  notice  erratic  agriculture,  an  exceptional 
form  of  human  industry,  contrasting  strongly  with  the  method  of 
cultivating  the  soil  in  China. 

The  Chinese  civilization  he  considers  the  measure  of  moral 
development  of  the  monosyllabic  nations ;  while  allowing  to  the 
Chinese    several    of  the    most    important    arts   and  discoveries  of 

*  The  Natural  History  of  the  Varieties  of  Man,  by  Robert  Gordon 
Latham,  M.  D.,  F.  R.  S.     8vo.     London,  1850. 

t  Without  cases.  t  Falling  back  from  inflexion. 


INTRODUCTION.  41 

Europe,  (as  the  art  of  printing,  of  paper-money,  of  the  mariner's 
compass,  of  a  certain  amount  of  astronomical  knowledge,  and  even 
of  gunpowder,)  he  doubts  the  antiquity  of  this  civilization,  vand  still 
more  the  self-evolution  of  it.  Within  the  historical  period,  three 
civilizing'  influences  have  been  introduced  into  China.  To  begin  with 
the  latest,  European  and  American  intercourse  has  not  changed  it 
in  any  essential  points.  The  influence  of  the  early  Nestorian 
Christians,  between  A.  D.  GOO  and  1200,  must  have  been  very 
great,  from  the  introduction  of  Syrian  literature,  theology  and 
science.  The  Buddhism  of  India  is  the  earliest  civilizing  influence. 
The  Han  dynasty  being  the  extreme  date  of  Chinese  history,  begin- 
ning 13.  C.  200,  Buddhism  must  have  been  introduced  since  that 
period  ;  it  is  generally  believed  to  have  been  introduced  in  the  first 
century  after  Christ.  He  thus  limits  the  growth  of  Chinese  civiliza- 
tion to  the  las)  eighteen  hundred  years,  believing  "  that  whatever  is 
older  than  their  religion  is  reasonable  tradition  for  a  limited  period, 
(say  a  century.)  and  unreasonable  tradition  beyond  it." 

2.  The  Turanian  stock,  of  which  the  divisions  are  the  Mongo- 
lians, the  Tungusians,  the  Turks,  and  the  Ugrians,  extending  from 
Kamtskatka  to  Norway,  and  from  the  Arctic  Ocean  to  the  frontiers  of 
Tibet  and  Persia.  Though  there  are  here  some  physical  changes,  there 
are  also  greater  changes  in  the  languages,  from  those  of  a  monosyl- 
labic and  aptotic  type  to  those  polysyllabic  and  anaptotic  ;  but  as 
we  know  what  modifies  form,  and  what  modifies  language,  we 
may  readily  understand  that  physical  and  philological  changes  may 
go  on  at  different  rates. 

An  interesting  branch  of  the  Ugrian  division  of  the  Turanian 
slock  is  the  Magyar,  or  Hungarians,  who  migrated  from  the 
country  of  the  Baslekirs,  about  A.  1).  «J0().  Those  who  would  con- 
nect the  Hungarians  with  the  Huns  are  misled  byr  the  similarity  of 
the  name,  for  no  facts  are  more  undeniable  than  that  the  Magyars 
are  of  Ugrian  and  the  Huns  of  Turkish  descent.  The  Magyars  arc 
the  only  members  of  the  Ugrians  who  have  made  a  permanent  con- 
quest, within  the  historical  period,  over  any  portion  of  the  Japitidce. 

B.  —  Dioscurian  Mongolida,  so  called  from  the  ancient  sea-port 
Dioscurias ;  the  term  Caucasian  would  have  been  more  appro- 
priate, but  it  has  already  been  misapplied  in  another  division,  the 
Japctidae.  The  principal  divisions  are  the  Georgians,  the  Lesgians, 
the  Iron,  and  the  Circassians. 

Dr.  Latham  differs  from  the  long  established  division  of  man- 
kind by  placing  the  Caucasians,  who  have  been  heretofore  consid- 
ered as  a  preeminently  European  type,  among  the  Mongolida?.  The 
anatomical  reason  for  making  the  Circassians  and  Georgians,  so 
4* 


42  INTRODUCTION. 

Called,  Caucasians,  was  a  single  fart  : — Blummhadi  had  a  folitary 
Georgian  skull,  which  happened  in  be  the  nhesl  in  Ins  colleciion, 
that  ill'  ;i  Greek  being  tin-  next ;  hence  it  was  taken  as  the  type  of 
the  skull  of  the  higher  divisions  of  mankind,  and  gave  rise  to  the 
term  Caucasian.  "  Never  has  a  single  bead  done  more  harm  to 
science  than  was  done  in  the  way  of  posthumous  mischief,  by  the 
bead  of  this  well-shaped  female  from  Georgia;"  tins  is  the  amount 
of  fact.  Similar  attempts  have  been  made  to  conned  tin'  Dioscurian 
languages  with  tin'  Indo-European  tongues;  in  1645,  Dr.  Latham 
announced  before  the  British  Association,  from  the  comparison  of  the 
words  only,  "that  the  closest  philological  affinity  of  the  Diosc 
languages  was  with  the  aptotic  ones;"  and  soon  after,  Mr.  Norriss, 
of  the  Asiatic  Society,  i  Kpri  ed  the  same  opinion,  on  gramm 
grounds.  As  to  the  symmetry  of  Bhape  and  delicacy  of  complexion 
of  the  Georgians  and  Circassians,  bo  different  from  tin-  Mongolian, 
the  reader  is  reminded  of  the  climatologic  condition  of  the  Caucasus ; 
temperate,  woo  led,  mountainous,  and  near  the  sea,  —  the  very 
reverse  of  the  Mongol  areas.  "  It  is  only  amongst  the  chiefs 
where  the  personal  beauty  of  the  male  population  is  at  all  remark- 
aide  ;  the  tillers  of  the  soil  are.  comparatively  Bpeaking,  coarse  and 
unshapely." 

C. —  Oceanic    M  idte,    divided    into    the    Amphinesian*   and 

Kelenonesianj  stocks. 

The  ocean  being  a  medium  of  communication  hetween  races  only 
in  proportion  to  the  skill,  experience  and  courage  to  use  it,  all 
a  priori  generalizations  on  it,  as  an  element  of  ethnographical  disper- 
sion, must  be  unscientific.  With  a  few  exceptions,  every  inhabited 
spot  of  land  in  the  Indian  and  Pacific  Oceans  is  inhabited  by  tribes 
of  the  same  race,  and  that  race  Oceanic;  with  the  exception  of  the 
Peninsula  of  Malacca,  it   is   not  only  re  in   the  islands,  but 

loxcherc  on  the  continent.  In  an  ethnographical  distribution  by 
water,  the  later  date  we  assign  to  it  the  more  explicable  are  the  phe- 
nomena, from  the  more  advanced  state  of  navigation  favoring  the 
dispersion  ;  while,  in  an  extension  by  land,  the  earlier  the  migration 
takes  place,  the  less  is  the  resistance  of  surrounding  nations. 

1.  The  Amphinesian  stock  consists  of  two  branches,  the  Proto- 
nesian,  and  the  Polynesian. 

The  Protonesian  branch  occupies  the  Malayan  Peninsula, 
Sumatra,  Java,  Timor,  Borneo,  Celebes,  the  Moluccas,  the  Philip- 
pines, &c.  With  respect  to  the  Malayan  Peninsula,  the  most 
important  fact   is  its  being   the  only  continental  seat  of  any  Malay 

*  Amphi,  around,  aad  nesos,  island.  t  Kelainos,  black. 


INTRODUCTION.  48 

nation,  which  suggests  the  idea  of  its  being  the  original  country  of 
the  many  widely  dispersed  Malay  tribes. 

Of  all  the  tribes  of  the  Old  World,  the  Oceanic  stock  have 
been  the  most  extensively  accused  of  cannibalism  ;  not  as  a  mark 
of  honor,  nor  to  gratify  revenue,  but  for  purposes  of  food. 

Amon<r  the  singular  customs  of  the  Island  of  Celebes,  women  are 
eligible  to  the  highest  offices  of  the  state ;  so  that,  at  the  present 
moment,  four  out  of  six  of  tin-  hereditary  rajahs  arc  females. 
Among  the  Buges,  some  men  dress  like  women,  and  sonic  women 
like  men,  for  their  whole  lives,  devoting  themselves  to  the  occupa- 
tions of  their  adopted  sex. 

The  Polynesian  branch  inhabits  the  islands  from  the  Pelews  i" 
Easter  Island,  west  and  fast,  and  from  the  Mariannes  to  tin'  Sand- 
wich Islands;  their  aliment  is  preeminently  vegetable;  they  are 
distinguished  by  the  little  or  no  use  of  the  bow  and  arrow  from  the 
Kelanonesians.  To  the  inhabitants  of  the  Pelew,  Caroline, 
Marianne,  and  Tarawan  groups,  :  the  name  of  Micrnnesians. 

The  population  of  tin'  Sandwich  Islands  is  exceedingly  mixed ; 
no  area  is  at  once  so  European  and  so  Polynesian.  The  Sandwich 
Islanders  are  themselves  emigrants,  and  ''are  found  at  the  coasi  of 
America  opposite,  thus  giving  admixture  to  the  Californian  and 
Oregon  Indians.  They  do  the  same  in  South  America,  on  the 
coast  of  Peru  and  Ecuador;"  thus  giving  rise  to  the  imperfectly 
studied  union  of  the  American  and  Oceanic  races. 

2.  The  Kelaenonesian  stock   is  divided   into  three  branches,  the 

Papua,  the  Australian,  and  the  Tasmanian. 

The  Papua  branch  is  found  in  New  Guinea,  New  Hebrides,  and 

the  neighboring  islands,  and  in  the  Fiji  archipelago. 

In  tin;  Australian  branch  the  lowest  form  of  humanity  has  been 
sought  for,  though  it  is  probable  that  there  has  been  considerable 
over-statement  on  the  subject. 

The  Tasmanian  branch  inhabits  Van  Diemen's  Land. 

D. — Hyperborean  Mongolida  belong  to  Siberia,  on  the  coasts 
of  the   Arctic   Ocean,  ami   the  courses  of  Yenisey  and    Kolwyma 

rivers.  They  are  divided  into  Saim'iieds,  Yeiiiseians,  and  Yukahiri. 
The  Samoicds  resemble  very  nearly  the  Greenlanders  in  their  phys- 
ical appearance.  This  section  probably  will  be  found  to  be  a 
subdivision  either  of  the  Turanian  or  the  Peninsular  Mongolidse. 

E.  — Peninsular  Mongolida  comprise  tribes  separated  from  each 
other,  both  geographically  and  ethnologically ;  the  principal  divis- 
ions are  the  Koreans,  Japanese,  Kamtskadales,  and  others,  inhabit- 
ing the  islands  and  peninsulas  of  north-eastern  Asia;  their  lan- 
guages arc  agglutinate,  and,  in  some  cases,  excessively  polysyllabic 


44  IHTBODl  I  I! 

Tiny  arc  connected  by  common  physical  and  social  conditions; 
they  lie  within  a  few  degrees  of  the  same  longitude;  and  their  lan- 
guages have  ;i  general  glossariai  connection  with  each  other,  and 
with  the  American  languages,  winch  is  sufficient  reason  for  placing 
them  in  a  separate  division. 

"  The  tr  ie  Kamtskadales  are  ;i  nearly  extinct  race.     Amongst  the 
causes  of  t  cir  r:i |>i(l  diminution,  a  kind  of  death,  rare  among 
enumerated  —  suicid 

P.  —  American  MtmgoUda,  comprising  the   Esquimaux  and  the 
American   Indians.     Over  this  vast   area,  whenever  the   lang 
diilrr  from,  or  agree  with,  each  other,  they  differ  or  agree  in  a  man- 
ner to  which  Asm  has  furnished  im>  parallel. 

The  Esquimau   is  the  only  family  common  t<»  the  Old  and  the 
New  World,  and  the  Esquimau  localities  are  the  only  ones  where 
the  two  continents  approach  each  other  *ery  nearly  :  so  that  it  ■■ 
seem  easy  to  decide   in  what  manner  America  was  peopled. 
choice  must  be  between  the  doctrine  that   derives   tl  ui  na- 

tions "  from  one  <>r  more  a*  parate  pairs  of  prog  d  the  doe- 

trine  that   either   Beh ring's  .Straits,  or  the  line  of  Islands  between 
ECamtskatka  and  the  Peninsula  of  Aliaska,  w;i-  the  highway  I"  I 
the  two  worlds  —  from  Asia  to  America,  or  a  i  docs 

not  necessarily  follow  that  the  race  must  have  arisen  in  Asia,  though 
there  are  valid  reasons  for  this  opinion.  Physically,  thi  Esquimaa 
is  a  Mongol  and  an  Asiatic  ;  philologically,  he  is  as  American.  The 
Esquimaux  of  the  Atlantic  coast  are  easily  distinguished  from  the 
American  aborigines  to  the  south  and  west  of  them,  in  appearance, 
manners,  and  language  ;  while  the  Esquimaux  of  the  Pacific  coast, 
in  Russian  America,  pass  gradually  into  the  proper  Indians  in  the 
same  respects. 

The  great  differences  between  the  American  Indians,  as  a  body, 
and  the  trihes  of  the  Old  World  would  naturally  lead  to  an  opinion 
in  favor  of  a  general  and  fundamental  unity  among  the  several  sec- 
tions of  them;  "the  Brazilian  and  the  Mohawk  equally  agreed  in 
disagreeing  with  the  Laplander,  or  Xejjro  ;  and  this  common  differ- 
ence was  enough  to  hring  them  within  the  same  class."  The  lan- 
guages of  the  American  nations  differ  remarkably  from  each  other  ; 
but,  as  Vater  has  indicated,  "  the  discrepancy  extends  to  words  or 
roots  only,  the  general  internal  or  grammatical  structure  being  the 
same  for  all  ;"  while  they  differ  glossarially,  they  agree  grammati- 
cally.—  a  philological  paradox.  The  likeness  in  the  grammar  has 
generally  been  considered  of  more  weight  than  the  difference  in  the 
words,  so  that  the  evidence  of  language  is  in  favor  of  the  unity  of 
all  the  American  nations,  including  the  Esquimaux. 


INTRODUCTION.  45 

Some  have  been  disposed  to  separate  the  Esquimaux,  and  the 
Peruvians  and  Mexicans,  from  the  other  Americans  —  the  former 
on  account  of  an  inferior,  the  latter  on  account  of  a  superior  "  civil- 
izational  development,"  and  maintained  in  consequence,  that  the 
American  stock  is  not  fundamentally  one  But  the  Esquimau  civil- 
ization is  not  Imcrr  than  that  of  the  other  Americans,  it  is  only 
different i  as  would  be  expected  from  their  Arctic  habitat,  their  fish- 
ing habits,  and  their  Fauna  and  Flora.  As  to  physical  characters, 
they  are  taller  than  half  of  the  South  American  tribes  ;  they  are  as 
dark  as  most  of  the  American  races,  only  a  few  typical  nations 
being  copper-colored  ;  their  skulls  approach  the  "  brakhy-kephalic  " 
character  of  the  American;  and.  finally,  their  language  is  Amer- 
ican in  grammatical  structure,  and  even  in  words. 

The  Pernvio-Mexican  civilization  lias  been  over-estimated;  the 
phenomena  of  their  social  and  political  condition  should  not  he  com- 
pared with  European  feudalism  and  chivalry,  hut  rather  with  "  their 
analogues,  the  probationary  tortures  of  tribes  like  the  Mandans,  ami 
the  constitution  of  such  an  empire  as  Powhattan's  in  Virginia  ;"  if 
■  opare  this  empire  of  Powhattan  with  the  kingdom  of  .Monte- 
zuma, we  shall  find  the  difference  of  civilization  to  be  in  degree,  and 

not  in  kind.      The   dillerei s   between  the  Peruvian  and  the  A r- 

ican  skull  are  artificially  produced,  by  flattening  in  front,  behind,  or 
laterally,  as  tin1  case  may  be. 

While  thus  advocating  the  unity  of  the  American  nations,  one 
unong  another,  he  omits  tie  ition  of  their  unity  with  nations 

of  the  Old  World.  He  merely  says,  "  1  know  reasons  valid  enough 
and  numerous  enough  to  have  made  the  notion  of  the  New  World 
being  the  oldest  of  the  two  a  paradox.  Nevertheless,  I  know  no 
absolutely  conclusive  ones." 

G. — The  Indian  Mongolida  comprise  the  inhabitants  of  llindos- 
tan,  (in  part,)  Cashmere,  Ceylon,  the  Maldives  and  Lacca. lives,  and 
part  of  Beloochistan  ;  they  have  numerous  relations  with  the  Jape- 
tidsn. 

The  Atlantidae  he  divides  into  — 

A.  —  The  Negro  Atlantidae. 

I!.  —The  K  Hire  Atlantidae. 

C. — The  Hottentot  Atlantidae. 

1). — The  Nilotic  Atlantidae. 

E.  —  Amazirgh  Atlantidae. 

F.  —  The  /Egyptian  Atlantidae. 
G. — The  Semitic  Atlantidae. 

It  is  necessary  to  remember  the  difference  between  the  Negro  and 
the  African  ;  the  true  Negro  area,  occupied  by  men  of  black  skin, 


46  INTRODUCTION. 

thick   lips,  flat  nose,  and  woolly  hair,  being  an  exceedingly  small 
part  of  the  African  continent. 

A.  —  Tl.e  Negro  Atlantidce  are  distributed  on  the  low  lands,  sea- 
coasts,  deltas,  and  courses  of  the  rivers  Senegal,  Gambia,  Niger, 
and  Upper  Nile,  nearly  limited  to  the  tropic  of  Cancer.  The  depart- 
ure from  the  true  Negro  features  is  the  greatest  on  the  high  or  table 
lands. 

B.  —  The  Kaffre  Atlantidce  inhabit  Western,  Central  (?),  and 
Eastern  Africa,  from  the  north  of  the  Equator  to  the  south  of  the 
Tropic  of  Capricorn.  Their  language  has  two  remarkable  peculi- 
arities which  seem  to  separate  it  from  other  African  tongues  ;  viz., 
the  system  of  prefixing  to  every  noun  a  syllable  without  any  sepa- 
rate meaning,  and  alliterational  concord,  which  changes  the  initial 
sound  of  a  secondary  word  into  that  of  the  primary  one. 

C.  — The  Hottentot  Atlantidce  have  "  a  better  claim  to  be  considered 
as  forming  a  second  species  of  the  genus  Homo  than  any  other  sec- 
tion of  mankind."  Their  language  contains  two  inarticulate  ele- 
ments, viz.,  h,  (like  other  tongues,)  and  a  peculiar  and  characteris- 
tic click. 

D. — The  Nilotic  Atlantidce  are  principally  the  Gallas,  Agows, 
and  Nubians  ;  through  the  Nubian  is  traced  the  transition  from  the 
Egyptian  to  the  Eastern  Negro. 

E.  —  The  Amazirgh  Atlantidce  (or  Berbers)  comprise  the  Sievans, 
the  Cabyles  of  the  Atlas  range,  Tuaricks  of  the  Sahara,  and  the 
Guanches  of  the  Canaries.  These  were  probably  the  subjects  of 
Massinissa,  Juba,  and  Jugurtha. 

F.  —  The  JEgyptian  Atlantidce  comprise  the  Old  Egyptians,  the 
subjects  of  the  Pharaohs  and  the  Ptolemies  ;  and  the  modern  Copts, 
in  the  rare  cases  where  they  are  unmixed :  the  present  dominant 
population  being  Arab. 

G.  —  Semitic  Atlantidce.  Connection  with  the  Semitic  is  by  no 
means  synonymous  with  separation  from  the  African  stock  ;  we  may 
pass  naturally  from  the  Copts  to  the  Semitic  tribes  of  Abyssinia, 
Arabia,  Palestine,  Syria,  Mesopotamia,  &c,  including  Syrians, 
Assyrians,  Babylonians,  Phoenicians,  Hebrews,  Arabs,  Ethio- 
pians, &c. 

The  Syrian  influence  on  civilization  has  been  undervalued ; 
through  the  Syrians,  Armenia  and  Arabia  received  the  knowledge  of 
Greece,  and  more  important  still  has  been  the  influence  of  the  pro- 
pagandism  of  the  Nestorian  Christians  in  Central  and  Eastern  Asia. 
The  Babylonians  were  among  the  first,  if  not  the  first,  builders  of 
cities  and  founders  of  empires  ;  they  also  made  the  first  application 
of  weights  and  measures.     The  achievement  of  alphabetic  writing 


INTRODUCTION.  47 

is  apparently  the  work  of  the  Phoenicians.  The  Arahs  have  ever 
been  celebrated  for  their  zeal  in  the  diffusion  of  knowledge,  though 
the  amount  of  originality  among  them  is  by  no  means  ascertained. 

He  thinks  all  the  alphabets  that  have  ever  heen  used  are  referable 
to  a  single  prototype,  and  that  Semitic. 

In  order  to  account  for  the  difference  of  tribes  under  the  same  lat- 
itude, he  lays  stress  upon  the  accumulation  of  climatologic  influ- 
ences, and  the  angle  of  migration  ;  which  he  illustrates  by  supposed 
migrations  through  a  single  zone,  and  through  many  rapidly  passed 
zones  ;  in  the  former  case  the  climatologic  influences  would  be 
lccumulated  much  more  than  in  the  latter. 

The  Japetidae  he  divides  into  — 

A.  —  Occidental  Japetidae. 

B.  —  Indo-Germanic  Japetidae. 

The  first  consists  of  the  Celts  and  their  branches.  The  second 
falls  into  two  classes,  the  European,  and  the  Iranian  Indo-Germans  ; 
the  former  including  the  Gothic  Sarmatian,  and  Mediterranean  na- 
tions ;  the  latter,  the  populations  of  Kurdistan,  Persia,  Beloochistan, 
Affghanistan,  and  Kafferistan,  —  tribes  descended  from  the  speakers 
of  the  Sanscrit  languages  (in  the  present  state  of  our  inquiry,  dead 
languages). 


Cuvier  divides  man  into  three  stocks,  Caucasian,  Mongole  or 
Altaic,  and  Negro ;  he  refers  the  American  to  the  Mongolian 
stock. 

Fischer  divides  man  into  Homo  Japcticus  ;  II.  Neptunianus  ;  H. 
Scythicus  (Mongols)  ;  II.  Americanos  (Patagonians)  ;  II.  Columbi- 
cus  (Americans)  ;   II.  Ethiopicus  ;   and  II.  Polynesius. 

Lesson  divides  man  into  the  White  Race  ;  Dusky  Race,  including 
Hindoos,  Caflrarians,  Papuans,  and  Australians  ;  Orange-colored 
Race,  the  Malay  ;  Yellow  Race,  the  Mongolian,  Oceanic  and  South 
American  ;  Red  Race,  the  Caribs,  and  North  Americans  ;  and  the 
Black  Race.' 

,  Dumeril  proposes  the  divisions,  Caucasian,  Hyperborean,  Mon- 
gole, American,  Malay,  and  Ethiopian. 

Virev  divides  man  into  two  species :  the  first,  with  facial  angle  of 
85°  to  90°,  including  the  white  race,  (Caucasian,)  the  yellow  race, 
(Mongolian,)  and  the  copper-colored  race  (American)  ;  the  second, 
with  facial  angle  75°  to  82°,  including  the  dark  brown  race,  (Malay,) 
the  black  race,  and  the     lackish  race  (Hottentots  and  Papuas). 

Desmoulins'  sections  are  Celto-Scyth-Arabs  ;   Mongoles  ;   Ethio- 


48  INTRODUCTION. 

pians  ;   Euro-Africans  ;   Austro-Africans  ;   Malays  ;  Papuas  ;  Negro 
Oceanians;  Australasians;  Columbians;  and  Americans. 

Bony  Di:  St.  Vincent  makes  fifteen  di\  isions  —  races  with  su 
hair,  of  the  Old  World;  viz.,  Homo  Japeticus ;  •  II.  Arabicus; 
II.  Indicus;  II.  Scythicus  (Tartars);  II  Sinicus  (Chinese);  II. 
Hyperboreus ;  1L.  Neptunianus;  II.  Australasicus ;  —  in  the  New 
World,  II.  Columbicus  (North  Americans);  II.  Americanus  (South 
Americans);  H.  Patagonicus  —  negro  races;  H.  vEthiopicu> ;  II. 
Carter  ;  II.  Melavinus  (in  Madagascar,  Fiji  Islands,  Van  Diemeu's 
land)  ;   and  II.  llottentottus. 

Mn.  Martin  f  gives  a  sketch  of  the  princij)al  divisions  of  mankind, 
according  to  various  naturalists,  which  is  quite  natural  and  inl 
ing. 

Mr.  Martin  divides  mankind  into  five  stocks,  as  follows  : 

1.  Japetic  Stock;  including  the  European  branch, or  the  Celtic, 
Pelasjjic,  Teutonic  and  Sclavonic  nations; — the  Asiatic  branch,  or 
the  Tartaric,  Caucasic,  Semitic  (Arabs,  Jews,  &c).  and  Sanscritic 
or  Hindoo  nations  ;  and  the  African  branch,  or  the  Mizraimic  (ancient 
Egyptians,  Abyssinians,  Berbers,  and  Guanches)  nations. 

2.  Neptunian  Stock,  including  the  Malays  proper,  and  the  Poly- 
nesians ;  (including,  perhaps,  among  the  last,  the  founders  of  the 
Peruvian  and  Mexican  Empires). 

3.  Mongole  Stock,  including  Mongoles  and  Hyperboreans. 

4.  Prognathous  Stock,  including  the  Afro-Negro,  Hottentot, 
Papuan,  and  Alfourou  branches. 

5.  Occidental  Stock,  including  Columbians  (North  American 
Indians),   South  Americans,  and  Patagonians. 


Dr.  Pickering  \  observes,  in  his  first  chapter,  that,  in  the  United 
States,  three  races  of  men  are  admitted  to  exist,  and  the  same  three 
races  "  have  been  considered,  by  eminent  naturalists,  (who,  however, 
have  not  travelled,)  to  comprise  all  the  varieties  of  the  human  fam- 
ily."     He  continues,  "  I  have  seen  in  all  eleven  races  of  men  ;  and 

*  Not  in  allusion  to  Japhet,  the  son  of  Noah,  but  to  Japetus  (audax 
Japeti  genus,  Horace),  whom  the  ancients  regarded  as  the  progenitor  of 
the  race  inhabiting  the  western  regions  of  the  world. 

t  Physical  History  of  Man  and  Monkeys  :  by  W.  C.  L.  Martin,  F.  L.  S. 
London,  1841. 

J  The  Races  of  Man,  and  their  Geographical  Distribution  :  by  Charles 
Pickering,  M.  D.     Boston,  1843.     [U.  S.  Exploring  Expedition.] 


INTRODUCTION.  49 

though  I  am  hardly  prepared  to  fix  a  positive  limit  to  their  number, 
I  confess,  after  having  visited  so  many  different  parts  of  the  globe, 
that  I  am  at  a  loss  where  to  look  for  others."  He  enumerates 
them  in  the  order  of  their  complexion,  beginning  with  the  lightest. 

A.  —  White.  Including  1.  Arabian;  with  nose  prominent,  lips 
thin,  beard  abundant,  and  hair  straight  and  flowing.  2.  Abyssinian; 
with  a  complexion  hardly  becoming  florid,  nose  prominent,  and  hair 
crisped. 

B.  —  Brown.  Including,  3.  Mongolian;  beardless,  with  per- 
fectly straight  and  very  long  hair.  1.  Hottentot,  with  Negro 
features,  and  close  woolly  hair,  and  stature  diminutive.  5.  Malay; 
features  not  prominent  in  the  profile  ;  complexion  darker  than  in 
preceding  races,  and  hair  Btraight  and  flowing. 

C. — Blackisii-Buown.  Including,  6.  Papuan;  with  features 
not  prominent  in  the  profile,  the  beard  abundant,  skin  harsh  to  the 
touch,  and  the  hair  crisped  or  frizzled.  7.  Negrillo;  apparently 
beardless  ;  stature  diminutive,  features  approaching  those  of  the 
Negro,  and  the  hair  woolly.  8.  Indian  or  Telingan;  with  feat- 
ures approaching  those  of  the  Arabian,  and  the  hair  straight  and 
flowing.  §.  Ethiopian;  with  complexion  and  features  intermediate 
between  those  of  the  Telingan  and  Negro,  and  the  hair  crisped. 

D.  —  Black. — Including,  10.  Australian  ;  witli  Negro  features, 
but  with  straight  or  flowing  hair.  11.  Negro;  with  close  woolly 
hair,  nose  much  flattened,  and  lips  very  thick. 

Maritime  habits  would  separate  the  .Malay,  Negrillo,  and  Papuan, 
or  the  three  island  races,  from  the  eight  continental  races.  Six  of 
the  races  may  be  considered  Asiatic,  and  lour  African  ;  while  the 
eleventh,  or  white  race,  is  common  to  both  hemispheres.  All  races 
exist  independent  of  climate.  Three  well  marked  divisions  of  the 
soil  correspond  with  desert,  pastoral,  and  agricultural  communities. 
"  It  is  a  mistake  to  suppose,  with  many,  that  pastoral  or  nomadic  life 
is  a  stage  in  the  progressive  improvement  of  society;  the  condition 
is  inscribed  on  the  face  of  nature." 

In  the  Mongolian  race,  he  thinks,  the  occurrence  of  a  feminine 
aspect  in  both  sexes,  rendering  it  difficult  to  distinguish  men  from 
women,  is  characteristic.  He  was  not  able  to  make  much  use  of 
the  oblique  eye  as  a  distinctive  character,  nor  the  "  alleged  absence 
of  a  projecting  inner  angle  to  the  lids."  According  to  him,  the 
Mongolian  race  inhabits  "  about  one  half  of  Asia,  and,  with  a  slight 
exception,  all  aboriginal  America,  or  more  than  two  fifths  of  the 
land-surface  of  the  globe." 

According  to  Mr.  Coan,  the  stature  of  the  southern  Patagonians 
"  is  nothing  unusual,  but  it  is  exaggerated  by  their  peculiar  mode 
5 


50  l  vn:  I] 

of    dress. "      Tli      i  'arctic 

Circle,  are  entirely  destitute  of  clothing,  showing  th<  of  the 

th.     "Indeed,  we  afterwards  (bund  that 

in  the  southern    hemisphere  vegetation    is  nowhei  by  a 

season  of  cold  ;    but    that,  in    many  h  tropical    cl 

be  said  i"  '  \'.  rid  to  the  Antarcl  I  li  and  among 

the  natives  of  the  extreme  point  of  South 

by  the  Fuegians,  but  not  by  the  North  American  In<3 

Among  the  North-west  watermen,  the  air  of 

Btriking;  they  appeared  on  g 1  terms  with  the  birds  and   I 

and  as  if  forming  with  them  a  part  of  the  animal  creation;  in 
accordance  with  an  id  "'  that  the  Mot 

liar  qualifications  !'<>r  reclaiming  or  reducing  animals  to  th 
state."     The  do  I    by  them  I   harden.     The 

Chinooks  are  considerably  superior  t«»  the  hunting  tribes  of  North 
America    in  various  arts  and    in    ■  I  '.nils  of  the 

Chinooks;:  i  in  infancy;  but,  as  they  grow  up,  the  skull 

resumes  its   natural  such  an  i  stent   a-  to  show  very  little 

trace  of  the  previous  deformity,  except  an  unusual  , breadth  of 
the  face.  Slavery  exists  among  the  Chinooks,  and  is  probably 
connected  with  the  first  peoplii  \  linent.     He 

thinks  the  fate  of  the  Chinooks  Efferent  from  the 

rest  of  the  continental  tribes,  from  "  the  greater  density  of  a  spirited 
population,  and  the  scanty  proportion   of  agricultural  territory, 
that   '•  they   can   only    give   place   to  a  maritime   people  like  them- 
selves.1' 

Speaking  of  a  bas-relief  from  Palc-nque,  he  says,  "It  is  eminently 
characteristic  of  the  Mongolian,  and  seems  decisive  as  to  the  physical 
race  of  the  people  who  reared  the  remarkable  ancient  structures  dis- 
covered in  that  part  of  America." 

The  Aborigines  of  the  United  States  seemed  to  him  physically 
identical  with  their  brethren  west  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  ;  their 
stature  is  higher,  however,  and  not  inferior  to  Europeans.  He 
thinks  all  belong  to  the  Mongolian  race.  Of  the  Chinese,  In 
"  I  repeatedly  selected  individuals,  who,  if  transported  in  a  different 
dress  into  the  American  forest,  might,  I  thought,  have  deceived  the 
most  experienced  eye."  At  Singapore,  the  Feejean  captive,  Vein- 
dovi,  saw,  for  the  first  time,  some  Chinese,  and  "  at  once  identified 
them  with  his  old  acquaintances,  the  tribes  of  North-west  America." 
Of  the  Mongolian  races,  the  Aboriginal  American  has  superior 
powers  of  endurance  ;  the  Chinese  excel  in  persevering  industry 
and  frugality  ;  these  qualifications  promise  to  have  an  important 
bearing  on  the  future  destiny  of  the  race. 


INTRODUCTION.  51 

The  Malay  r.iee  is  the  most  widely  scattered  ;  it  exhibits  greater 
variety  in  its  institutions  and  social  condition  than  all  oilier  races 
combined  ;  and  it  is  truly  a  maritime  race.  A  marked  peculiarity 
is  the   elevated   occiput,  which   gives   to   the   1.  in    front,  a 

broader  appearance  than  in  Europeans  ;  there  is  a  tendency  also  to 
tion  of  the  upper  maxilla.  There  is  a  great  variety  of 
stature  among  them  :  some  of  the  Polynesians  (as  the  Taheitians) 
are  the  largest  of  mankind,  while  the  East  Indian  tribi 
small  stature, —  this  may  dep<  ad  mi  food,  though  in  both  it  is  prin- 
cipally vegetable;  tin-  fonm  r  (where  almost  unknown)  live 
on  farinaceous  roots  and  fruits,  the  latter  live  almost  entin 

Speaking  of  the  beautiful  submarine  creation  of  the  coral  islands, 
he  says  it  .  mimal  life,  even  ma  tables 

nearly  wanting.  Tin'  mineral  kingdom  was  also  absent  ;  noth- 
ing hut  immem  of  the  debris  of  animals.  Myri 
ids  and  th  i-palms  announced  uninb 
islands  ;  so,  on  binding,  did  ti;.  of  the  house-fly,  and  of  the 
Morinda,  though  the  with  the  I'  which 
spreads  without  human  aid.  The  vegetable  prod  these 
islands  are  limited  to  about  thirty  Bpecies,  of  remarkable  uniformity 
over                 graphical  distance. 

Among  tlie   Polynesian   customs  is  the  salute  by  rubbing  noses 
together.      He  calls  the  Californians,  Mexicans  and  West   Indians, 
as;  a  Bingle  glance  satisfied   him    of  their  Malay 
affinity.      At  th 

distinguish  native  Polynesians  from  tin-  half-civilized  Californians. 
Tie-  hair,  howei  I     I   the'  former  being   waved  ami 

inclined  to  curl,  while  that  of  the  latter  i>  invariably  straight.  The 
Californians  have  not  the  custom  of  scalping,  nor  do  they  use  the 
tomahawk.      The   p  of  two  aboriginal    races   in   America 

recalls  certain  historical  coincidences.     The  Toltecs,  the 

tinted  with  agriculture  and 
nauufactures.  Now,  such  cultivation  could  not  have  been  derived 
from  the  northern  Mongolian  population,  who  in  their  parent  coun- 
tries were  by  climate  prevented  from  being  agriculturists.  If,  then, 
this  art  was  introduced  at  all  from  ahroad,  it  must  have  come  by  a 
southern    route,  and,   to    all    ap]  .    through    the    Malay   race. 

This  is  not  incompatible  with  an  ancient  tradition,  attributing 
'■  the  origin  of  their  civilization  to  a  man  having  a  long  beard  ;'"  ho 
could  not  have  been  a  Mongolian  ;  he  might  have  been  a  Malay. 
'•  if.  h  ny  actual   remnant  id'  the  Malay  race  exists   in   the- 

eastern  pan  of  North  America,  it  is  prohahly  to  be  looked  for  among 


52  [NTR0D1  '-  H< 

the  Chippewaa  and  the  Cherokeea."     He  givi 

Mil.i  v  ahalogii   .     He  r  sf<  ra  ihe  Japanese  t"  the  Malay  t 

The  Australian  has  the  complexion  and  featun    of  I 
but  hair  instead  of  wool ;  the  forehead  dot  much,  and 

often  an  unusually  Bunken  i  it  rail:  r  the  a] 

jetting  ;  ill-  eyes,  though  small,  are  uncommon!  ■ 
about  thirty,  some  of  whom  w<  lidedly 

fine-looking.     He  did  not  notice  the  i  d  Blenderm 

limb;  their  forma  wer nerally  better  than  th 

:iiian  as  the  finest  modi  1  of  human  proportions 
l,      The  liair  was  usually  undu  D  curl- 

ing in  ring 

The  Australians  absolutely  reject  all  the  innoval  riliza- 

tion  ;  they  arc  strictly  in  the  "  hunter  state  :"  I 

the  inferior  animals  with  which  thi  I  d.     If  the 

wild  Australian  dog  be  a  peculiar  a  there  is  reason  to 

d  never  the  companion  of  man,  I  lutely 

without  domestic  annuals  ;  '•  a  c 

The  Papuan  race  arc  ro  .  inbabitin 

I  ids.    Th  y  differ  from  tb    restof  mankind  in  th 

or  harshness  of  the  skin.  The  hair  is  In  great  quantity,  naturally 
frizzled  and  wiry  ;  when  dressed,  its  thickness  will  prol 
a  heavy  blow  ;  it  actually  incommodes  the  wearer  when  lying  down, 
anil  renders  necessary  a  wooden  neck-pillow.  The  heard  exceeds  in 
quantity  that  of  all  except  the  White  races.  The  features  resemble 
the  Negro,  but  the  face  is  longer  ;  in  stature  they  exceed  the  White 
race.  The  favorite  color  among  the  Fecjeans  is  vermilion-red  ; 
among  the  Malays  it  is  yellow.  The  former  have«iot  the  excessive 
fondness  for  flowers  manifested  by  the  Polynesians  ;  they  rarely  anoint 
themselves  with  oil  ;  they  salute  by  touching-  noses  instead  of  lips. 
Among  the  Feejeans  there  exists  a  general  system  of  parricid'   . 

s  die  a  natural  death;  when  they  have  passed  the  prime  of 
life,  and  are  unfit  for  the  service  of  the  state,  the  son  makes  use  of 
his  privilege  and  takes  the  life  of  his  parent.  This  strange  custom, 
apparently  so  inhuman,  is  a  sacrifice  in  favor  of  the  children,  —  a  kind 
of  savage  virtue  in  a  land  where  the  means  of  subsistence  are  limited. 
Cannibalism  is  of  daily  occurrence,  and  is  regarded  in  the  light  of  a 
refinement. 

The  Negrillo  race  occupies  the  Xew  Hebrides,  the  interior  of 
New  Guinea,  Luzon,  &c.  It  differs  from  the  Papuan  in  its  diminu- 
tive stature,  general  absence  of  beard,  the  inclined  profile,  and  the 
exaggerated  Negro  features ;  the  hair  is  less  knotty  than  that  of  the 
Negro,  and  more  woolly  than  that  of  the  Papuan. 


INTRODUCTION.  53 

The  Telinjran  comprises  the  natives  of  Eastern  and  Western  Ilin- 
dostan  and  Madagascar. 

The  Ni  irro  race  is  the  darkest  of  all.  and  is  rivalled  onlv  by  the 
.tut  in  the  close  wooily  texture  of  the  hair.  The  absei 
rigidity  and  of  a  divided  apex  of  the  cartilage  of  the  nose  is  common 
to  this  and  tli i  Malay,  ami  probably  other  races.  jn  Albinos,  when 
the  skin  resembles  tbat  of  Europeans,  the  hair  resembles  "a  white 
fleece.'"     The  excellence  of  the]  ear  for  muBic  is  proverbial; 

much  of  our  popular  music,  which  has  been  supposed  to  beof 
origin,  may  probably  be  traced  to  a  more  distant  and  ancient  Bource. 

In  Egypt,  Negroes  are  principally  confined  to  Cairo  and  Alex- 
andria, and  are  generally  housi  they  do  not  engage  in  the 
labors  of  agriculture,  and  they  are  not  bo  represented  on  the  ancient 
monuments.  N  figured  principally  in  connexion  with  the 
military  campaigns  of  the  Eighteenth  Dynasty.  One  of  this  dynasty 
(Thoulhmoais  IV.)  probably  had  a  Degress  fur  his  queen.  He  dues 
not  remember  set  nted  on  the  anterior  monuments, 
nor  indeed  on  those  of  much  later  date.  He  Bays,  "  I  am  not  aware 
of  any  fact  contravening  the  assumption  that  Negro  slavery  may  have 
been  <>1  modern  origin;  and  th  seems  t"  have  been  very 
little  known  to  the  ancient  <  rreeks  and  Romans."  The  Soahili  arc  a 
mixed  race  of  N  nd  Whites,  living  at  Zanzibar  and  other 
localities;  in  the  same  island  is  also  a  mixed  race  of  Negroes  and 
Malays.  Among  the  people  of  Eastern  Africa  he  could  not  1 
any  pastoral  Negroes,  nor  of  Ethiopian  cultivators.  The  Kafiers 
"belong  physically  to  the  Negro  1  • 

opian  race  is  intermediate  between   the  Telingan   and 

•ual    appearance    and    in    complexion.      The  hair   is 

crisped,   but  fine,  never  wiry;  the  skin   is  suit,  and  the   features 

Furopean-like.     It  occupies  the  hottest  countries  of  Africa ;  most  of 

astoral,  wandering,  some  of  them  in  the  recesses  of 

I         ireat  Desert.      The  Nubians  of  the  Nile,  and  some  trihes  bor- 

.iiia.  lead  an  agricultural  life. 

The  Ethiopian  race  seems  to  have  furnished  the  originals  lor  the 
ancient  monuments  <d'  Egypt,  as  late  as  the  end  of  the  Eighteenth 
ty  ;  their  manner  of  braiding  and  plaiting  the  hair  is  that 
which  prevails  in  the  mummies.  Most  of  the  monarchs  of  this 
dynasty  were  certainly  of  the  White  race,  and  subsequent  to,  if  not 
before  this  period,  the  Egyptians  were  regarded  as  a  nation  of  the 
White  race;  at  the  same  time,  there  i.s  abundanl  evidence  that  some 
of  the  Egyptian  Pharaohs  were  physically  Ethiopians.  The  Somali, 
J)    .kali,  Galla,  and  M'Kuafi  belong  to  the  Ethiopian  race. 

The  Hottentot  differs  in   physical   race  from   the  Negro,  being  of 


6  1  i.n  PRODI  CI : 

light  complexion  and  diminutive  stature.      I  of  the  llottmtot 

r:ir  •  liis  b  5  limited  to  a  small  locality  :it  the  south 

probable  iliit  il  i  the  interior 

of  the  rmiiiiH'iit.     I fnlike  the  Kafte 
the  habits  of  civilization,  and  a 

Of  the  Bosjesmans  of  the  frontier,  il  is  quot<  '.  "  I  imong 

rooks  and  woods;   have  a  keen,  vivid  eye,  always  on  the  alert*;  will 
spring  from  rock   to  rock,  like  the  a  winch 

I  .mi  in   the  bushes,  and  seldom  i   the  bum 

place;  supporting  themselves  '•  wild  ani- 

mals,  as  reptiles  and  insects." 

The    Lb  tn  race  may  be  said  to  h  i 

crisped  hair  and  light  complexion.     Mr.  Election  speaks  of  thi 
'•  b  6ne  sel  of  people,  men  absolutely  Buch 

of  doing  anything  thai  we  can  do."     M     I  "  Under  the 

same  advantages,  Abyssinia  might  rise  to  an  equality  with  a  I 
pean  nation."     This  is  ill"  third  race,  "which  will  enter  into  the 
question  of  the  primil        Egyptians;"  t 

with  that  of  the  monumental   Egyptian  ;  though  Mr.  Gliddon  has 
pointed  oul  the  true  .A  nctly  figured  <m 

the  monuments. 

tie  divides  the  White  r  two  branches,  differing  :.~  well 

geographically  as   in   institutions  and   ha 
and  tin?  Oriental  ;  the  former  rules  the  Bea  by  its  ships,  a 

the  land  by  its  caravans.      He  was  surprised  at  hearing  from 
the  lips  of  Orientals  words  of  ancient  and  iii  in  lan- 

-.  "  until  at  last  the  whole  class  of  these  lang  med  as 

if  merely  recomposed  from  fragments  of  Arabic  and  Sanscrit  :  and  if 
any  European  words  can  be  traced  to  a  different  t  least 

remain  to  be  pointed  out." 

Assuming  the    population  of   the  globe  to  be  900,00<».<>>r>.   the 
races  include  the  following  numbers  : 

The  White,       .      .      350,000,000     The  Abyssinian,  .  3,000,000 

The  Mongolian,      .      300,000,000     The  Papuan,      .  .  3.000,000 

The  Malayan,   .      .      120,000,000     The  Negrillo,    .  .  3,000,000 

The  Australian,  .  500.000 


The  Telingan, .  .  60,000,000 
The  Xegro,  .  .  55,000,000 
The  Ethiopian,      .  5,000,000 


The  Hottentot,       .         500,000 


Though  languages  indicate  national  affiliation,  their  actual  dis- 
tribution is  independent  in  a  great  degree  of  physical  race  ;  and  much 
confusion  has  arisen  among  writers  from  neglecting  the  means  of 


INTRODUCTION.  55 

extension  or  imparting  of  languages.  The  a«1cipi i«>:i  of  a  language 
is  ''very  much  a  matter  off  convenience,  depending  oAen  on  the 
lumerieal  majority."  On  the  supposition,  fur  instance,  that  Poly- 
ehed  the  Ami  rican  shores,  if  does  not  follow  that  we 
•ii lt lit  t<>  find  trios  of  tlii'ir  lang  On  I  ;.iry.  it  da 

follow  thai  ■  ikiiiLr  th(  are  in  any  way  con- 

W  hitesand  Blacks  of  the  United  States. 
!l     concludes  (his  chapter  thus:   "Inth<  eh  new 

field  r>  .  going 

beyond  tin- istitntion  "fa  plant  or  animal, is  met  bya  new  adapta- 
tion, until  the  di  full ;  while,  among  the  immense  vai 

two  kinds  are  hardly  found  fulfilling  the  same   pre- 

i  -t  in  ilit-  human  fam- 
ily; and  it  may  uned  whether  any  one  of  the 

yly,  would,  up  to  the  present  day,  have  i  itended  itself 

over  the  w  bole  aurfai f  il 

It  i-  evident  that  the  manners,  arts,  and  attainments  of  the  Poly- 

not  of  independent  growth,  nor  are  they  the  remnants  of 

r  civilization.     If  we  look  to  the  East  Indies,  their 

supposed  nriL.Mii,  we  find  no  resemblance.      If  man  baa  hada  central 

i,  and  has  gradually  spread  with  itiona  and  knowledge, 

•lit  to  find  Ins  history  inscribed  on  I  eh  new 

revolution  obliterating  mo  >>f  the  preceding,  bis  primitive 

condition^  should  !>••    found  at  the    furthest   remove  from   th< 

graphic  centre."     If  we  "  coul  nto  the  early  history  of  the 

Indies,  we  might  find  there  a  condition  of  society  approximating 

to  that  nt  th"  Polyni  Cusl  to  in  the 

place  of  their  origin,  may  continue  a  long  time  in  remote  situations. 

ft  iween  the  east  coast  of  Africa  and  tl  America,  there 

arc  li-  trea  of  maritime  intercourse,  which  I > r i 1 1 lt  into 

connexion  this  immense  tract  of tan.    From  Arabia  to  Hindostan  the 

rformed  by  Arab  "dows"  :  from  Hindustan  to  the 
I  Indies,  the  Bay  of  Bengal  is  navigated  by  the  Telingans  and 
Maldive  Islanders;  the  Easl  Indians  extend  their  commercial  i 

from  \-  i  t'i  the  northern  part  of  Australia;  the  main  Pacific 
itres  of  communication  with  the  Bast  In  lies,  through  tne 
Mips,  and  the  Papuan  archipelago,  though  the  former 
is  the  mam  one;  this  navigation  is  carried  on  by  Japani 
and  by  the  large  double  canoes  of  the  Society  and  Tonga  Islands ;  the 
northern  Pacific  to  America  has  been  passed  by  these  same  Japanese 
vessels  and  Polynesian  canoes;  both  would  naturally  and  almost 
necessarily  reach  he  northern  extreme  of  California,  precisely  the 
place  where  we  fr  d  a  second  physical  race  ;   this  course  would  be 


56  INTRODUCTION. 

broughl  about  by  i h<*  ocean  currents  ami  the  prevailing  winds. 
Within  a  few  yean  a  Japanese  vessel  was  fallen  in  with  l»y  a  whaler 
in  the  North  Bfcific;   another  has  been  wrecked  on  the  Sandwich 

Islands;  and.  Mill  mure  in  point,  a  third  bu  actually  drifted  l'»  the 
American  coast  near  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  river.  Finally, 
between  Asia  ami  North-west  America,  there  1-  almost  a  continuous 

chain  ui'  islands,  inhabited  by  the  same  population,  so  that  it  is 
impossible  t<i  Bay  where  America  begins,  or  where   \ 

Hi  considi  is  table-lands  as  the  natural  birth-placi  -  of  civilization. 
He  compares,  with  this  view,  the  table-lands  of  M<  xico  an. I  Pi  ru 
with  the  American  forests,  ami  their  corresponding  civilization. 
America  contains  two  of  these  natural  centres;  the  table-land  of 
Thibet  is  a  third  ;  all  in  possession  of  the  Mongolian  race.  It  we 
look  for  a  fourth,  we  shall  find  it  only  in  Abyssinia. 

Assuming    that  man    has   been  placed  on  the   earth  subject   to  the 
same  laws  as  the  rot  of  creation, — and,  finding  that  tie 
animals  have  in   no  case  been  modified   by  eh..  il   cir- 

cumstances in  the  various  regions  allotted  to  each,  hut  have  been 
originally  fitted  for  their  natural  localities,  —  he  argues  that  man.  horn 
without  natural  clothing,  does  not  belong  to  the  cold  or  variable 
climates;  he  must  have  originated  "in  a  region  of  perpetual  sum- 
mer, where  the  unprotected  skin  bears  without  suffering  the  slight 
fluctuations  of  temperature;"  in  other  words,  he  is  "essentially  a 
production  of  the  Tropics."  He  thinks  there  is  "  no  middle  ground, 
between  the  admission  of  eleven  distinct  species  in  the  human  family, 
and  the  reduction  to  one."  If  the  latter  opinion  be  adopted,  it  implies 
a  central  origin,  and  that  origin  is  probably  the  African  Continent. 

Speaking  of  the  introduction  of  plants  into  America,  he  thinks 
that  its  agriculture  may  not  be  of  spontaneous  growth  ;  and  many  of 
the  objects  of  cultivation  have  been  introduced  especially  from  Japan 
and  the  Polynesian  islands;  many  of  the  American  species  have  not 
been  met  with  elsewhere,  and  are  doubtless  indigenous. 

The  foreign  animals  and  plants  of  the  Pacific  Islands  were  invari- 
ably derived  from  the  West.  Three  of  our  domestic  animals,  the 
pig,  the  dog,  and  the  domestic  fowl,  were  known  throughout  tropical 
Polynesia  before  the  visits  of  Europeans.  They  have  also  their 
indigenous  animals  and  plants.  He  believes  that  the  Indian  caves 
of  Budha  were  constructed  by  the  White  race. 


There  has  been  a  singular  diversity  of  opinion  in  regard  to  the 
physical  characteristics  of  the  ancient  Egyptians  ;  the  point  of  prin- 
cipal interest  is  whether  they  were  Caucasians  or  Negroes. 


INTRODUCTION.  57 

W*  may  here  give  an  abstract  of  Dr.  Morton's*  interesting  obser- 
vations. 

Dr.  Morton  refers  the  skulls  of  Egyptian  mummies  to  two  great 
races,  the  Caucasian  and  the  Ni  gro,  the  numbei  of  th  •  former  being 
vastly  the  greatest.     The  I  i   heads  lie  refers  to  three  types, 

the  Pt  las  gic,  the   finest  formation;  the  Semitic,  as  seen  in  the 

Hebrews,  with  comparatively  receding  for<  h  ad,  long,  arched,  and 
very  prominent  nose,  marl.  ■••■  between  the  eyes,  and  strong 

ipment  of  the  whole  facial  structure;  and  the  Egyptian,  having 
a  narrower  and  more  receding  forehead  than  the  Pelasgic,  with  a 
more  prominent  face  ;  the  nose  straight  or  aquiline,  the  face  angular, 
the  features  often  sharp,  and  the  hair  uniformly  long,  Boft,  and  curl- 
ing; amoi  skulls  which  blend  the  Egyptian  and 
the  Pelasgic  types.  Besides  the  true  Negro  type,  there  are  also 
heads  of  mixed  characters,  in  which  the  Negro  predominates  ;  he 
calls  the  latter  Nt  groid. 

Of  ninety-eight  Egyptian  (ancient)  crania,  forty-nine  were  Egyp- 
tian, twenty-nine  Pelasgic,  six  Semitic,  live  mixed,  eight  Negroid, 
and  oi.  .  more  than  eight  tenths  belong  to  the  unmixed  Cau- 

casian race.  The  Caucasian  heads  have  a  larger  internal  capacity 
and  a  greater  facial  angle  than  the  Negro;  and  in  the  order  which 
he  at  first  enumerated  the  I 

Allowing  for  the  acquired  density  from  infiltration  of  bitumen, 
the  cranial  bones  are  as  thin  and  light  as  in  Europeans.  The  hair 
line  and  curling  as  in  Europeans,  "  perfectly  distinct  from  the 
woolly  texture  of  the  Negro,  the  frizzled  curls  of  the  Mulatto,  or  the 
lank,  straight  locks  of  the  Mongolian."  Denoo  pointed  out  in  the 
Egyptian  profile  the  great  distance  between  the  nostrils  and  the  I 
a  small  and  receding  chin  is  also  of  frequent  occurrence.  There  is 
abundant  evidence  that  the  complexion  of  the  Egyptians  did  not  differ 
from  that  of  oth      I  in  nations  in  warm  latitudes.      While  the 

!ted  from   the  sun,  were  comparatively  fair,  tho 
lower  c  comparatively  dark,  and  might  even  be  called 

i     i  eks,  in  comparison  with  their  own.     We  find  a  sim- 
ilar variation  among  the  modern  Hindoos. 

The  s/tme  national  physiognomy  displayed  by  the  mummies  is  also 
represent  id  on  the  monuments,  as  any  one  will  easily  find  by  turning 
over  tie'  pag  is  of  Champollion  and  Rosellini ;  viz.,  an  upwardly 
■'.  head,  with  receding  forehead,  delicate  features,  prominent 
face,  in  which  a  long,  straight,  or  slightly  aquiline  nose  forms  a  prin- 
cipal feature,  the  chin  short  and  retracted,  the  lips  rather  turned,  and 

*Cra>-ia  .(Egypt-iaca  ;  by  Samuel  George  Morton,  M.  D.     Philadel- 
phia, 1844. 


58  INTRODUCTION. 

the  hair  long-  ami  flowing.  Adopting  the  Biblical  term,  he  thinks 
the  children  of  Ham,  or  Mizraimites,  (he  does  not  believe  that  Ham 
was  the  progenitor  of  the  Negro  race,)  entered  Africa  by  the  isthmus 
of  Suez,  and  were  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  the  valley  of  the 
Nile;  "and  that  their  institutions,  however  modified  by  intrusive 
nations  in  after  times,  were  the  offspring  of  their  own  minds;"  he 
believes  a  portion  spread  themselves  over  the  north  of  Africa,  and 
became  the  nomadic  tribes  of  Libyans.  Dr.  Beke  revers*  a  the  route, 
ami  thinks  the  "  Cushite  descendants  of  Hani  first  Milled  on  the 
western  Bide  of  the  Arabian  peninsula,  crossed  thence  into  Ethiopia, 
ind,  descending  the  Nile,  became  the  Egyptians  of  after  times." 

The  term  Ethiopian  has  been  used  very  vaguely,  to  embrace 
Arabs,  Hindoos,  Austral-Egyptians,  and  Negroes :  it  is  properly 
applied  to  the  people  who  occupied  the  valley  of  the  Nile  from 
Philae  to  Meroe,  including  the  present  nations  of  Nubians  and 
Abyssinians,  and  the  great  variety  of  mixed  races  resulting  from 
proximity.  Monumental  evidence  abundantly  shows  that  the 
Meroites  and  Ethiopians  had  no  affinity  to  the  Negro  race  ;  the  former 
are  always  represented  red  like  the  Egyptians,  while  the  latter  has 
also  the  characteristics  of  his  race.  1  [»■  believes  "  that  the-  Egyptians 
and  monumental  Ethiopians  were  of  the  tame  lineage,  and  probably 
descended  from  a  Libyan  tri 

The  Fellahs  are  a  mixture  of  the  Arab  with  the  old  Egyptian 
stock,  and  are  the  lineal  descendants  of,  and  least  removed  from,  the 
monumental  race  of  any  now  occupying  the  valley  of  the  Nile. 

The  monuments  also  prove  that  the  Egyptian  race  must  have  been 
modified  by  Pelasgic,  Semitic,  Arab,  and  Hindoo  tribes,  of  the  Cau- 
casian family.  He  regards  the  Copts  as  a  mixed  community  derived 
from  the  Caucasian  and  Negro.  The  modern  Nubians,  he  thinks, 
are  "descended,  not  from  the  possessors  of  Ethiopia  in  its  flourish- 
ing period,  but  from  the  preedial  and  slave  population  of  the  country, 
increased  by  colonists,  and  raised  into  a  nation  by  peculiar  circum- 
stances between  the  third  and  sixth  centuries  of  the  Christian  era."' 

The  monuments  give  ample  evidence  of  the  existence  of  > 
slavery  among  the  Egyptians  ;  and  the  vast  influx  of  Negroes  must 
have  left  an  impression  on  their  masters,  as  we  see  in  the  ancient 
Negroid  heads  and  the  modern  Copts,  thus  also  explaining  the  inci- 
dental elevation  of  the  Negro  caste.  Comparing  the  ancient  Egyp- 
tian and  Negro  with  their  modern  representatives,  it  may  be  said 
"  that  the  physic  1  or  organic  characters  which  distinguish  the  sev- 
eral races  of  men  are  as  old  as  the  oldest  records  of  our  species." 


INTRODUCTION.  59 

Mr.  Van  Amringe,*  while  he  admits  that  all  the  human  family 
sprang  from  Adam  ;  that  the  whole  race,  except  Noah  and  his 
family,  was  destroyed  by  the  deluge  ;  and  that  since  then  the  whole 
human  family  have  sprung  from  three  men,  —  believes,  and  forcibly 
argues,  that  there  are  no  less  than/owr  different  species  of  mankind. 
These  arguments  will  be  introduced  when  treating  of  the  diversity 
of  the  races. 

His  species  are,  1.  The  Shemitic  species,  including  the  Caucasian 
nations  generally  ;  of  strenuous  temperament.  2.  The  Japhetic 
species,  including  the  Mongolian  races,  Esquimaux.  Aztecs  and  Pe- 
ruvians ;  of  passive  temperament.  3.  The  Ishmaelitic  species,  includ- 
ing must  of  the  Tartar  and  Arabian  tribes,  and  the  American  nations  , 
of  callous  temperament.  4.  The  Canaanitic  species,  including  Ne- 
groes and  Australians  ;  of  sluggish  temperament.  5.  The  Esauitic 
species  (?),  including  Malays  and  Negroes  with  long  hair. 


Dr.  S.MYTiif  divides  the  subject  into  the  question  of  origin,  and 
the  question  of  specific  unity  of  man  ;  the  former  he  determines 
chiefly  by  the  evidence  of  Scripture  ;  the  latter,  only,  he  makes  a 
question  for  scientific  observation.  He  has  given  a  great  number  of 
texts  to  show  that  the  Divine  Writings  unequivocally  teach  the  ori- 
gin of  the  human  race  from  a  single  pair,  Adam  and  Eve  ;  and  he 
goes  so  far  as  to  say,  u  that  the  gospel  must  stand  or  fall  with  the 
doctrine  of  the  unity  of  the  human  races." 

He  then  undertakes  to  prove  that  black  races  of  men  have  ex- 
isted in  ancient  times  in  a  high  state  of  civilization  ;  and,  assuming 
that  a  black  race  is  a  Negro  race,  he  contends,  contrary  to  the  opin- 
ion of  the  most  learned  ethnologists,  tint  the  Egyptians  and  Mero- 
ites  were  nearly  akin  to,  if  not  absolute  Negroes. 

Remarking  that  "  it  is  the  glory  of  God  to  conceal  a  thing,"  and 
admitting  with  Leibnitz  that  "  the  utmost  that  can  be  fairly  asked  in 
reference  to  any  affirmed  truths  of  Scripture  is,  to  prove  that  they 
do  not  involve  any  necessary  contradiction,"  he  thinks  that  the  fact 
of  great  existing  varieties  offers  no  objection  to  the  revelation  of 
Scripture,  that  all  the  present  races  are  the  descendants  of  a  single 
pair.      He,  therefore,  adopts  the  usual  theory  that  the  existing  vari- 

*  Outline  of  a  new  Natural  History  of  Man,  founded  upon  Human  Anal- 
ogies :  by  W.  F.  Van  Amringe.     New  York,  1348. 

t  The  Unity  of  the  Human  Races :  by  Thomas  Smyth,  D.  D.  New 
York,  1850. 


CO  INTRODUCTION. 

etios  of  man  are  analogous  to  the  varieties  of  animals,  and  to  be 
accounted  for  by  the  operation  of  natural  causes,  and  externa]  agen- 
cies, "or  by  these  causes  preternaturally  excited." 

Speaking  of  specific  differences,  he  calls  color  a  "  separable  acci- 
dent" and  not  a  Bpecific  distinction  in  man,  it  is  not  univer- 
sal in  all  human  creatures.  1  f is  remarks  on  hybridity  will  be  b 
considered  when  speaking  of  Dr.  Bachman's  work,  from  which  they 
are  mostly  quoted.  The  next  two  cbapti  roted  to  the  con- 
sideration of  the  unity  or  common  origin  of  langu  argu- 
ment for  the  original  unity  of  mankind.     Tl bservations  on  the 

testimony  of  history,  experience,  the  religious  character  of  the  race, 
and  the  insensible  gradation  of  the  varieties,  have  been  alluded  to  in 
previous  authors,  or  will  be  summed  up  hereafter  from  the  original 
sources. 

The  most  characteristic  part  of  the  work  is  that  in  which  he  main- 
tains that  the  theory  of  a  plurality  of  races  of  men  is  uncharitable, 
inexpedient,  and  unchristian;  he  collates  texts  to  prove  that  the 
Negro  is  "  God's  image  carved  in  ebony,"  maintaining  that  he  has 
"  the  same'  primeval  origin,  the  same  essential  attributes,  the  same 
moral  and  religious  character,  and  the  same  immortal  destiny  "  (p. 
332)  ;  and  yet,  talking  about  the  "first  law  of  slavery,"  the  right 
of  property  in  a  human  being  enforced  by  divine  commandment,  the 
right  of  the  master  to  the  labor  of  the  slave  for  life,  of  anti-slavery 
movements  as  blind  philanthropy,  &c,  he  says,  (pp.  334-5,) 
"  The  relation  now  providentially  held  by  the  white  population  of 
the  South  to  the  colored  race,  is  an  ordinance  of  God,  a  form  and 
condition  of  government  permitted  by  Him,  in  view  of  ultimate 
beneficial  results.  God's  authority,  God's  word,  and  God's  will, 
and  not  the  applause  or  the  condemnation  of  men,  must  be  her  rule 
of  action.'1''  This,  and  still  stronger,  language  shows  rather  the 
polemic  theologian,  and  the  advocate  of  Southern  institutions,  than 
the  scientific  naturalist,  and  ethnologist;  and,  however  appropriate  in 
other  places,  is  quite  irrelevant  on  the  subject  of  the  origin  of 
mankind. 


In  contrast  with  the  last  author,  Dr.  Bachman,*  in  a  philosophic 
manner,  pursues  his  investigations  "  irrespective  of  any  supposed 
decisions  which  may  have  been  pronounced  by  the  Scriptures." 

*  The  Doctrine  of  the  Unity  of  the  Human  Race  examined  on  the  Prin- 
ciples of  Science.     By  John  Bachman.  D.  D.     Charleston,  S.  C,  1550. 


INTRODUCTION.  61 

Animals  and  plants,  in  a  state  of  domestication,  or  of  cultivation, 
are  subject  to  remarkable  changes  when  removed  from  their  native 
soils;  and  these  varieties  become  permanent,  not  reverting  to  the 
original  wild  stock  even  when  returned  to  their  original  localities  ; 
this  he  considers  a  well  established  fact.  lie  collected  together  a 
great  number  of  hybrids  of  animals  and  plants,  and  found  them 
sterile  in  every  instance  but  one  ;  he  was  satisfied  "  that  a  union 
of  two  species  could  not  produce  a  new  race,  and  that  species  were 
the  creation  of  God."  With  Prichard  he  considers  domestication 
of  animals  analogous  to  domestication  in  man,  a:ul  that  the  varieties 
of  the  animal  kingdom  within  the  range  of  species  explain  the  per- 
manent varieties  of  man  ;  or,  rather,  that  they  have  been  produced 
by  similar  causes. 

lie  reviews  at  length  the  alleged  instances  of  fertile  hybrids  in 
the  article  of  Dr.  S.  G.  Morton,  and  finds  no  reason  to  change  his 
opinion  as  above  expressed.  He  objects  that  the  instances  are  taken 
often  from  remote  distances  where  it  is  impossible  to  verify  them; 
that  the  authorities  quoted  are  either  contradictory,  obscure,  or  of 
little  scientific  merit  ;  and  the  innumerable  instances  to  the  contrary 
seem  to  him  entirely  decisive,  that  hybrids  between  different  species 
are  sterile.  No  instance,  not  open  to  doubt,  can  be  shown  of  hybrids 
fertile  for  several  generations,  without  a  crossing  with  one  of  the 
original  Btocks  ;  many  of  the  so-called  different  species,  breeding 
together,  are  generally  believed  to  be  mere  varieties  of  a  single 
species,  e.  g.,  of  the  horse,  the  hog,  the  sheep,  the  dog. 

As  hybrids  are  sterile,  hybridity  is  a  test  of  specific  character; 
and,  as  all  the  races  of  men  produce  with  each  other  a  fertile  prog- 
eny, they  may  fairly  be  said  to  be  of  the  same  species. 

The  striking  and  permanent  varieties  of  animals  are  acknowledged 
to  be  the  results  of  an  organization  by  which  the  species  are  enabled 
to  produce  varieties.  Taking  it  for  granted  that  we  must  be  governed 
by  the  same  laws  for  determining  species  in  man  and  animals,  he 
asks,  Why  do  our  opponents  persist  in  calling  human  varieties  dis- 
tinct species?  Instancing  the  well-known  varieties  of  the  wolf, 
Why  do  naturalists  admit  these  as  mere  varieties,  and  insist  that  the 
human  races  are  as  many  species?  The  same  question  is  asked  con- 
cerning the  horse,  the  cow,  the  sheep,  the  hog,  the  dog,  domestic 
fowls,  and  pigeons,  in  which  there  is  the  same  disposition  to  branch 
out  into  varieties  from  a  common  stock,  as  great  as  between  the 
races  of  men.  Great  variations  have  occurred  in  many  Caucasian 
nations,  while  wild  animals,  with  few  exceptions,  have  undergone 
no  change  ;  showing  the  influence  of  domestication.  According  to 
G 


62  INTRODUCTION. 

him,  man  ought  to  be  compared  as  a  domestic  species,  and  not  aa  a 
wild  one. 

lie  believes  that  man  originated  in  a  tropical  cliinrilr;  ;  that  the 
original  type  no  longer  exists;  thai  the   European  is  as  aiuch  an 

improved  race  in  form  and  color,  as  the  Negro  is  a  i 
one.  We  have  no  evidence  that  a  white  race,  like  the  Europeans, 
existed  at  the  primitive  dispersion  of  man.  Central  Asia,  usually 
regarded  as  the  birth-place  of  man,  is  also  the  native  country  of  his 
domesticated  animals  and  poultry,  and  of  the  grains  and  vegetable 
productions  carried  with  him  in  his  migrations.  In  what  manner 
climate  tends  to  produce  human  varieties,  he  does  not  pretend  to  say; 
the  fact  is  evident,  the  manner  unknown.  He  thinks  "  there  is  in 
the  structure  of  man  a  constitutional  predisposition  to  produce  varie- 
ties in  certain  regions  of  country."'  To  show  the  tendency  in  ani- 
mal and  human  constitutions  to  transmit  peculiarities  to  offspring, 
he  gives  examples  showing  that  excrescences  and  malformations, 
and  even  arrests  of  development,  may  be  thus  transmitted  ;  he 
shows,  also,  how  suddenly  Nature  goes  from  one  extreme  to 
another  in  the  production  of  Albinos.  He  supposes  that  the 
constitutions  of  men  in  early  a<jes,  before  the  races  had  become  per- 
manent, may  have  been  more  susceptible  of  producing  varieties  than 
at  a  later  period  ;  he  believes  that  when  new  varieties  are  formed, 
they  multiply  very  rapidly,  while  previously  existing  varieties  dimin- 
ish. The  difficulties  in  explaining  the  varieties  of  animals  are  just 
as  inexplicable  as  those  concerning  the  races  of  man  ;  there  is,  in 
the  organization  of  animals  and  man,  a  power  to  produce  varieties 
suited  to  every  climate.  Though  he  considers  the  African  an  infe- 
rior variety  of  the  race,  he  shows  that  it  is  capable  of  considerable 
improvement  ;  and  that  even  in  the  shape  of  the  skull  there  is,  in 
American-born  specimens,  a  striking  departure  from  the  original 
type. 

From  Tiedemann,  he  gives  the  conclusions  :  that  the  brain  of  a 
Negro  is  as  large  and  as  heavy  as  that  of  other  human  races  ;  the 
nerves  of  the  Negro,  the  form  and  proportions  of  the  various  parts 
of  the  spinal  cord,  and  the  inward  structure  of  the  nervous  system, 
show  no  important  difference  from  those  of  the  European  ;  the 
Negro  brain  does  not  resemble  the  brain  of  the  orang-outang,  any 
more  than  does  that  of  the  European.  These  results  are  confirmed 
by  the  measurement  of  Dr.  S.  G.  Morton.  In  answer  to  the  ques- 
tion, why  a  negro  does  not  change  into  a  white  man  in  the  native 
country  of  the  latter,  and  rice  versa,  he  says  the  races  are  already 
established,  and  varieties  once  formed  do  not  revert  to  their  original 
stocks  ;  the  Shetland  pony  cannot  be  converted  again  into  the  wild 


INTRODUCTION.  63 

Tartar  horse,  any  more  than  a  negro  can  be  recon\ertcd  into  his 
lighter  original  stock. 

He  thinks  the  theory  of  the  creation  of  the  same  species  of  ani- 
mals and  man  in  different  localities  open  to  the  following  objections  : 
it  supposes  a  multiplication  of  miracles,  to  produce  an  effect  which 
might  have  been  produced  by  second  causes,  viz.,  an  organization 
capable  of  producing  varieties  suited  to  every  climate,  and  ample 
means  of  migration.  It  confounds  all  the  rules  by  which  naturalists 
are  governed  in  the  determination  of  species.  The  creation  of  a 
species  in  one  locality,  and  the  creation  of  the  same  species  as  a 
very  distinct  variety  in  another  locality,  is  very  nearly  equivalent  to 
the  creation  of  these  as  different  species.  The  same  species  of 
animal,  as  far  as  he  knows,  is  not  created  in  separate  localities,  as 
regards  mammals  and  birds.  Apparent  exceptions  in  the  lower 
animals  and  plants  may  be  satisfactorily  accounted  for  in  another 
manner.  The  animals  of  the  Eastern  Continent  are  all  of  different 
species  from  those  of  America,  with  the  exception  of  the  Arctic 
animals,  which  can  easily  migrate  to  the  temperate  latitudes  of  cither 
continent.  The  eggs  of  fishes,  crabs,  and  other  lower  animals,  very 
tenacious  of  life,  are  the  food  of  many  birds  of  powerful  flight,  and 
may  be  voided  from  their  bodies  at  considerable  distances  while  they 
yet  contain  the  principle  of  life.  Seeds  are  also  conveyed  to  im- 
mense distances  by  various  animals,  pass  through  their  bodies,  and 
spring  up.  This  may  account  tor  the  apparent  existence  of  the 
same  species,  in^he  few  cases  where  it  has  been  observed,  in  local- 
ities remote  from  each  other.  Geological  changes  of  the  earth's 
surface  should  also  be  considered  in  this  connection.  Currents  of 
water  and  winds  also  scatter  seeds  to  great  distances  from  their  orig- 
inal source.  A  last  objection  is  the  nature  of  man's  organization, 
endowed  with  a  constitutional  power  to  become  naturalized  in  every 
climate. 

He  coincides  with  Dr.  Pickering  in  referring  the  American  In- 
dians to  the  Mongolian  race,  and  the  inhabitants  of  California,  &c, 
to  the  Malay,  though  he  arrived  at  this  conclusion  before  he  knew 
Dr.  Pickering's  views. 


Dh.  Mortox*  divides  the  American  race  into  two  families,  one  of 
which,   the    Toltccaii,    bears   evidence   of   centuries  of  civilization, 

*  Crania  Americana,    by   Samuel   George    Morton.    M.   D.     Philadel- 
phia, 1839. 


64  INTRODUCTION. 

while  tho  o  her,  the  American,  embraces  nil  the  barbarous  trib 
tin'  New  \'  ml, I  (  \c  >pi  th    Polar  n  il 

Betw  ien  the   \  pp  il  ichian,  the  Brazilian,  Patagonian  and  Fui 
branches  oi  the  American  family,  there  are  Borne  Blight  <: 
which  may  l>c  attributed  to  thi  :  climate  and  locality  and 

tlic  consequent   habits  of  life;  though  all  have  the  low,  lima: 
head,  high  cheek-bones,  aquiline  nose,  large  mouth,  and  wide  .skull, 
prominent  at  vertex,  w  ith  flattened  occiput,  peculiar  to  the  Ami 
race.     The  minis  have  their  superior  m  ritly  curved,  and 

tin'  ml'  rim-  margin  like  an  inverted  arch,  contrasting  strongly  with 
the  oblong  orbh  and  parallel   margins  of  the  Malay.     Tl 
family  includes  the  Bemi-civilized  nations  of  Mexico,  Peru,  B< 
Guatlmala,  Yucatan,  Nicaragua.     Tins  differs  from  the  Am< 
family    in    intellectual    faculties   principally.      Their   architectural 
remains  show  their   great   attainments  in  the  practical   arts  of  life. 
This  family  is  the  Neptun  -  of  Bory  de  St.  Vincent,  who 

refers  them  to  the  Malay  race,  in  which  l>r.  Morton  do 
with  him,  lor  reasons  to  be  given  h<  r<  afti  r.     From  nation 

of  nearly  one  hundred  Peruvian  crania,  he  at  first  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  heads  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  wer  v  very 
much  elongated,  differing  in  this  respect  from  the  ivians, 
who  appeared  later.  That  opinion  he  has  since*  given  up,  and 
believes  the  elongated  shape  to  be  the  result  of  compression.  \\:t 
now  believes  that  the  descendants  of  the  ancient  Peruvians  yet  dwell 
in  the  land  of  their  ancestors,  under  the  name  of  Aymaras,  their 
probable  primitive  name  ;  that  the  Aymaras  resemble  the  surround- 
ing Quichua  nations  in  almost  every  respect,  having  ceased  to  mould 
the  bead  artificially  ;  that,  according  to  M.  D'Orbigny,  the  flattened 
skulls  were  always  those  of  men,  while  the  heads  of  women  retained 
the  natural  American  shape  ;  that  this  deformity  was  a  mark  of  dis- 
tinction ;  that  these  people  were  the  architects  of  their  own  tombs 
and  temples  ;  that  the  capacity  of  the  cranium  is  the  same  in  the 
ancient  and  modern  Peruvians,  about  seventy-six  cubic  inches.  —  a 
smallness  of  size  without  parallel,  except  among  the  Hindoos. 
D'Orbigny  also  believes  that  the  ancient  Peruvians  were  the  lineal 
progenitors  of  the  Inca  family, — a  question  not  yet  decided.  The 
ancient  Peruvian  head  is  remarkable  for  its  long,  narrow  form, 
inclined  forehead,  and  length  of  the  occiput  behind  the  ear  ;  the  face 
is  proportionally  narrow. 

The  Inca  Peruvians  date  their  possession  of  Peru  from  the  11th 
century,  —  a  period  corresponding  with  the  migration  of  the  To! 

*Journ?   of  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia.    Vol.  8,  1S42. 


INTRODUCTION.  65 

t:cas  from  Mexico  ;  hence  it  has  been  supposed  these  were  of  com- 
mon origin.  At  any  rate,  the  Incas  are  supposed  to  have  been  an 
intruding  nation.  The  Inca  skull  is  remarkable  for  its  small  size, 
its  quadrangular  and  unsymmetrical  form,  its  prominent  vertex,  its 
compressed  and  often  vertical  occiput  projecting  to  one  side  or  the 
other,  and  its  consequent  great  parietal  diameter,  He  thinks  this 
flatness  of  the  occiput,  commpn  to  the  whole  American  race,  may 
be  increased  by  the  manner  of  treating  their  children  in  the  cradle. 

The  heads  of  the  ancienl  \\>  deans  resemble,  both  in  size  and 
form,  the  unaltered  heads  of  the  ancient  Peruvians,  with  considera- 
ble lateral  swell,  and  shortened  longitudinal  diameter.  While  the 
ms  were  superior  to  other  American  nations  in  intellectual 
character,  their  moral  perceptions  were  as  much  inferior.  All  their 
institutions,  civil  and  religious,  were  calculated  to  debase  th 
feelings  of  human  nature  ;  among  these  was  the  custom  of  sacrificing 
human  victims.  The  difference  between  the  ancienl  Mexicans  and 
their  modern  descendants,  where  the  race  is  unmixed,  is  no  greater 
than  that  between  the  ancient  Egyptians  and  the  present  <  "»>j>t . 

The  traditions  of  the  Natchez  Indians  state  that  they  migrated 
from  Mexico.  The  analogies  between  them  and  the  Toltecas  are, 
the  worship  of  the  sun.  human  sacrifices,  hereditary  distinctions, 
and  Sxed  institutions,  in  which  they  also  differed  from  all  the  other 
Florida  nations.  They  hid  also  the  singular  custom  of  compressing 
their  heads  from  before  backwards,  giving  to  them  a  great  height 
and  width. 

He   a    satisfied  that  the  American   Indians,  the  Toltecan   family, 
ami  the  builders  of  the  mounds,  belong  to  one  and  the  same 
race,  indigenous  to  America;  and  that  they  are  not  Mongols,  Hin- 
doos, or  Jews.      He  thinks  the  Toltecan  family  were  the  only  build- 
ers of  mounds. 

In  a  subsequent  paper*  Dr.  Morton  gives  Ins  reasons  for  consid- 
ering all  the  American  nations,  except  the  Esquimaux,  as  of  one 
race,  peculiar  and  distinct  from  all  others.  The  Indian  physiog- 
nomy he  considers  "as  undeviatingly  characteristic  as  that  of  the 
Negro;  for,  whether  we  see  him  in  the  athletic  Charib  or  the 
stunted  Chayma,  in  the  dark  <  'alifornian  or  the  fair  Borroa,  he  is  an 
Indian  still,  and  cannot  he  mistaken  for  a  being  of  any  other  race." 

From  the  comparison  of  400  crania,  from  tribes  inhabiting  every. 
region  of  both  Americas,  he  finds  the  same  osteological  structure  in 
all,  viz.,  squared  head,  flattened  occiput,  high  cheek-bones,  heavy 
maxillae,  large    quadrangular    orhits,   and   low,   receding    forehead. 

*  Boston  Journal  of  Natural  History,  vol.  4,  p.  190,  ct  seq. 
G' 


06  INTRODUCTION. 

This  applies  equally  to  the  oldest  crania  from  Peruvian  and  Mexi- 
can cemeteries,  and  the  mounds  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  tlie 
existing  [ndian  ti 

Tho  moral  traits  are  equally  strongly  marked.  Among  them  an 
a  sleepless  caution,  which  influences  every  thought  and  action,  and 

•  their  proverbial  taciturnity  and  invincible  firmness  ;  ■  I 
war  and  destruction  ;   habitual  indolence  and  improvidence;  indiffer- 
ence to  private  property;  and  the  vague  simplicity  of  their  religious 
observances.     These  arc  the  same  from  the  humanized  Peruvian  to 
the  nidcst  Brazilian  Bavage. 

They  arc  averse  t<>  the  restraints  of  civilization,  and  seem  incapa- 
ble of  reasoning  on  abstract  subjects;  they  improve  not  in  mechan- 
ical pursuits,  in  making  their  huts  or  their  boats;  their  imitative 
faculty  is  very  small.      The  long  annals  ol  rv  labor  give  no 

authentic  exception  to  this  state  of  things.  Contrasted  with 
barbarous  tribes  are  the  Mexicans  and  Peruvians,  whose  civilization 
has  been  before  sufficiently  alluded  to.  If  it  be  asked  bow  nations, 
derived  from  the  same  stock,  should  differ  so  widely,  it  may  be 
replied  that  the  contrast  is  the  same  between  the  Saracens,  who 
established  their  kingdom  in  Spain,  and  the  Hedouins  of  the  Desert, 
between  the  Greeks  of  the  present  day  and  the  Greeks  of  the  age 
of  Pericles  ;  and  yet  these  last  are  known  to  bi  long  to  the  same 
stock.      What  accounts  for  the  one  may  explain  the  other. 

In  maritime  enterprise  the  American  Indian  is  very  much  behind 
other  races,  even  in  situations  where  the  ocean  invites  him  to  use  it 
as  a  means  of  subsistence  or  communication.  In  this  respect  he  dif- 
fers greatly  from  the  Malay,  (or  Homo  Neptunianus,  as  he  might  be 
called,)  to  whom  some  consider  the  American  related  in  Califor- 
nia, &c. 

Their  manner  of  interment  is  so  different  from  that  of  other  races, 
and  so  prevalent  anion?  themselves,  that  it  constitutes  another  means 
of  identifying  them  as  a  single  and  peculiar  race.  This  consists  in 
burying  the  dead  in  the  sitting  posture,  the  legs  being  flexed  against 
the  abdomen,  the  arms  being  bent,  and  the  chin  supported  on  the  palms 
of  the  hands.  This  prevails,  with  but  few  exceptions,  from  north 
to  south. 

The  Esquimaux  differ  so  widely  from  the  Americans,  in  physi- 
cal and  moral  traits,  and  their  aquatic  habits,  that  their  ethno- 
graphic dissimilarity  seems  evident  to  him.  He  thinks  there  is  no 
more  resemblance  between  the  Indian  and  Mongolian,  in  physical 
characters,  in  arts,  architecture,  mental  and  social  features,  (es- 
pecially nautical  skill.)  than  between  any  other  two  distinct  races. 
The  Mongolian  theory  is  objectionable  on  account  of  its  vastness 


INTRODUCTION.  67 

requiring  a  lona  succession  of  colonies  for  a  distance  of  8000  miles, 
which  must  have  left  traces  of  tli.  ir  series  of  human  waves  in  the 
north,  where  the  pressure  must  have  been  greatest  ami  the  coloniza- 
tion longest  in  duration  ;    but  none  such  are  found. 


It  remiins  to  present  the  arguments  in  favor  of  an  original  differ- 
ence of  the  human  races,  and  their  creation  in  several  different  cen- 
tres ;  in  doing  which  we  shall  be  obliged  to  draw  on  short  treatises, 
most  of  them  recently  published,  as  well  as  on  a  dissertation  pub- 
licly pronounced  by  the  writer. 

Witli  those  who,  like  Prichard,  believe  thai  the  Mosaic  account 
of  creation  is  a  full  and  complete  record,  to  be  literally  and  strictly 
interpreted,  all  argument  is  of  course  useless,  notwithstanding  the 
nuraen  hich  may  be  pointed  out  in 

that  record.  Lord  Bacon  utti  red  a  great  truth,  when  he  said.  "The 
union  of  religious  and  philosophical  investigation  is  often  detrimental 
to  the  cause  of  truth."  It  is  not  Christian  philosophy  that  would 
have  men  shrink  from  the  investigation  of  Nature,  from  fear  of  find- 
ing a  contradict.  n  the  works  and  the  word  of  God.  When 
rightly  understood,  they  must  harmonize.  Nor  can  weassume  that 
human  knowledge  has  us  yet  arrived  at  its  maximum  in  the  com- 
prehension of  the  word  any  more  than  it  has  of  the  works  of  God. 

Professor  Agassis*  remarks  that  though  the  question  is  not  at  all 
connected  with  religion,  a  entirely  to  natural  history,  still 

the  theory  of  the  diversity  of  origin  of  the  human  races  does  not 
contradict  the  Mo  d,  which  is  best  explained  by  referring  it 

to  the  historical  races.  There  is  in  u  no  account  of  the  origin  of 
nations  unknown  to  the  ancients,  as  the  Arctic  nations,  Japanese, 
Chinese,  Australians,  Americans.  We  have  a  right  to  consider  all 
possible  meanings  of  the  text,  and  no  one  can  object  except  those 
"whose  religion  consists  in  a  blind  adoration  of  their  own  construc- 
tion of  the  Bible."  There  is  not  a  line  in  it  which  hints  that  the 
differences  in  nations  were  introduced  by  the  agency  of  time.  All 
its  statements  refer  either  to  the  general  moral  and  spiritual  unity 
of  man,  (which  no  one  denies,)  or  to  the  genealogy  of  a  particu- 
lar race.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  sacred  writers  considered 
the  colored  races  as  descended  from  the  same  stock  as  them 
This  is  a  modern  and  human  invention  for  political  or  other  purpi 
By  taking  into  view  these  non-historic  races,  with  no  records,  and 
consequently  umnentioned  in  the  Bible,  we  greatly  "  lessen  the  per- 
plexity of  those  who  cannot  conceive  that  the  Bible  is  not  a  text- 
book of  natural   history,  and  who  would   like  to  find  there  informa- 

*  Christian  Examiner,  Boston,  March  and  July,  1850. 


68  INTRODUCTION. 

lion  upon  all  those  subjects  which  have  hern  left  for  man  to  investi- 
gate." If,  then,  the  origin  of  the  human  rare,  from  a  single  pair, 
can  he  proved  a<  all,  it  must  be  proved  independently  of  the  Ji 

Scriptures;   it  must  be  t  •  pure  scientific  question. 

Many  i  f  the  varieties  of  domestic  animals  arc  ascribed  to  climate. 
If  this   be  the   true   cause  :.  \  I,  "  why  do  we  find  different 

varieties  in  the  same  climate  1     Why  does  the  Durham  breed  <>f 
cattle   continue   in  the   United   States   with   all   its   peculiarity 
The  care  of  man,  gTeater  than  the  influence  of  climate,  can  keep 
up  varieties   in  spite  of  it.     Superficial  observers  —  "those   who 
have  only  known  the  differences  called  climatic  differeno 
between  some  mammalia  and  birds,  which  occur  simultaneously  in 
different    latitudes  —  may  well   have   assumed    that    such  differ 
have   been   produced  by  change   introduced   in  the  course  of  time  ;" 
but  when  we   consider  the  great    mass  of  facts   in   natural    history, 
known  only  to  those  who   have  made  it  a  special  study,  these  inade- 
quate and  accidental  causes  cannot  explain  si. eh  <_'<  neral  phenomena. 

In  considering  this  subject  we  are  not  to  confound  the  Unity  of 
Mankind  with  the  Diversity  of  Origin  of  the  Human  Races  —  ques- 
tions which  are  quite  distinct,  and  have  almost  no  connection  with 
each  other. 

The  geographical  distribution  of  animals  furnishes  to  the  natural- 
ist very  strong  evidence  in  favor  of  the  original  diversity  of  the 
human  races.  There  are  certain  recognized  zoological  and  botan- 
ical provinces,  with  well-defined  and  constant  limits.  The  Fauna 
and  Flora  of  each  hemisphere,  and  of  each  zone,  have  their  peculiar 
characters;  more  resembling  each  other  as  we  go  towards  the 
north,  and  more  widely  different  as  we  approach  the  equator.  Even 
marine  animals,  in  an  element  undergoing  very  little  change  and 
especially  suited  for  rapid  and  distant  migrations,  are  restricted  to  a 
certain  extent  of  surface,  or  are  confined  strictly  to  certain  depths. 
We  have  no  right  to  say  that  the  law,  "  Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and 
no  farther."  was  impressed  on  animal  and  vegetable  life  as  a  subse- 
quent addition  to  the  creative  act. 

We  know,  too,  that  there  have  been  successive  creations  of  ani- 
mals and  plants  at  different  geological  periods  :  and  that  they  were 
distributed  in  localities  best  suited  for  their  life  and  growth  for  a 
certain  time.  In  many  instances,  as  in  the  Edentata  of  Brazil  and 
the  Marsupiata  of  New  Holland,  these  fossil  types  were  the  same 
as  the  actually  existing  types  of  these  localities,  though  of  different 
genera  and  species  ;  this  coincidence  of  distinct  creations,  separated 
by  immense  intervals  of  time,  but  occupying  precisely  the  same 
limits,  is  certainly  difficult  to  explain  by  the  theory  of  the  origin  of 


INTRODUCTION.  69 

all  animals  from  the  high  lands  of  Asia,  or  any  other  single  centre. 
It  i;  not  probable  that  the  same  animals  would  have  twice  wandered 
across  land  and  sea  to  the  smif  localities.  Of  this  local  creation  of 
animals,  the  island  of  New  Holland  furnishes  a  striking' example ; 
nearly  as  large  as  all  Europe,  it  contains  animals  and  plants  pecu- 
liar to  itself.  With  the  exception  of  our  opossum,  the  marsupial 
animals  are  peculiar  to  this  region,  and  no  higher  animals  are  abun- 
dant. Most  of  the  genera  and  all  the  species  of  plants  were  new  to 
botanists.  Must  of  the  fishes  belong  to  the  cartilaginous  type.  To 
Asia  belong  the  orang-outang,  the  tiger,  the  i,  &c. ;    to 

Africa,  the  chimpanzee,  the  zebra,  the  hippopotamus,  the  lion,  the 
gnu,  the  giraffe,  &C.  ;  to  America,  the  ant-eater,  the  bulHilo,  the 
llama,  the  grizzly  hear,  the  moose,  the  beautiful  humming  hirds,  and 
the  mocking  bird. 

There  seems  no  avoiding  the  conclusion  that  there  have  heen 
many  local  centres  of  animal  and  vegetable  creation.  Is  it  most 
consistent  with  the  wisdom  of  God  to  place  originally  every  species 
in  the  climate  and  soil  most  congenial  to  it  '  or  to  create  all  species 
in  one  spot,  whether  suited  to  them  or  not,  and  leave  them  to  find 
out  their  present  localities,  at  the  risk,  perhaps,  of  life  ?  To  adopt 
the  latter  view  seems  to  he  placing  the  Deity  below  a  mere  human 
contriver.*  Wherever  we  examine  nature,  we  find  a  perfed  adap- 
tation of  animals  to  the  circumstances  under  which  they  live  ;  when 
these  are  changed,  the  animals  cease  to  exist.  The  domestic  animals 
and  man  are  able  to  resist  external  changes  for  a  longer  period,  hut 
even  these  finally  degenerate  and  die.  "  That  which,"  says  Arjassiz, 
';  among  organized  beings  is  essential  to  their  temporal  existence  must 
be  at  least  one  of  the  conditions  under  which  they  were  created." 

The  American  trihes  are  uniform  from  Canada  to  Cape  Horn, 
whatever  the  variety  of  climate  ;  yet  they  differ  from  Africans, 
Asiatics,  or  Australians;  while  the  inhabitants  of  the  southern 
extremities  of  America,  Africa,  and  New  Holland,  regions  having 
almost  the  same  physical  conformation,  are  extremely  unlike  each 
other.  We  must  conclude  that  "  these  iaces  cannot  have  ass'imcd 
their  peculiar  features  after  they  had  migrated  into  these  countries 
from  a  supposed  common  centre;  that  they  must  have  originated, 
with  the  animals  and  plants  living  there,  in  the  same  numerical  pro- 
portions and  over  the  same  area  in  which  they  now  occur."  These 
conditions  are  necessary  to  their  maintenance. 

*  "  Distribution,"  says  Vai  Amringe,  "  can  only  relate  to  the  subjects 

to  )>e  distrilmtod  ;  but  the  Old  World  never  had  the  fauna  of  New  Hoi 
land  and  America ;  and  therefore  could  not  distribute  them.  Fror* 
whence  did  thr>y  come  ?  "     (p.  144.) 


73  iNTBOOi  i  now. 

We  find  the  races  of  man  occupying  circumscribed  localities  in  inti- 
mate connection  with  the  recognized  zoological  and  botanic  proi 
Arctic  man,  like  Arctic  animals,  is  the  same  in  \  mi  rica,  Europe  and 
The  races  become  more  distinct  as  we  approach  the  equator. 
In  temperate  Europe  we  have  the  great  Caucasian  family,  i 
three  great  branches  may  be  said  t<>  be  three  varietii  -  of  the  same 
species,  as  the  varieties  of  the  lion  in  northern  and  southern  Afri- 
ca (though  having  their  peculiar  marks)  constitute  o 
In  temperate  Asia  v\e  nave  the  Mongolian  race;  m  temperate 
America  we  have  the  Indian.  In  the  tropics  we  have  the  African 
nations,  the  .Malay  race,  ami  the  people  of  Central  America  and  the 
West  Indies  (by  some  considered  congenital  with  the  Malays).  In 
New  Holland  we  have  the  Australian;  in  the  Pacific  islands  we 
have  the  Polynesian,  and  several  local  varieties.  In  southern 
Africa  we  have  i in-  Bushman,  the  Hottentot  and  Kafir;  iii  south- 
ern America,  the  Patagonian  and  Fuegian.  Among  the  quadrumana, 
which  approach  nearest  to  man,  we  see  a  similar  adaptation  of 
species  to  continents.  The  monkeys  of  America,  of  Asia,  of 
Africa,  of  Madagascar,  are  different  from  each  other  ;  and  what  is 
curious  is  the  fact  that  the  black  orang  is  confined  to  the  continent 
occupied  by  the  black  human  races,  while  the  brown  orang  is  found 
with  the  tawny  Malay  races.  Is  it  at  all  likely  that  one  is  a  modi- 
fication of  the  other,  by  climate  or  external  circumstances? 

These  facts,  to  the  mind  of  a  naturalist,  would  prove  thai  both 
man,  and  animals  and  plants,  originated  together  in  the  places 
where  they  are  found  ;  for  why  should  man  alone  assume  new 
peculiarities,  very  different  from  his  supposed  primitive  ones,  while 
animals  and  plants,  in  the  same  limits.  ••  preserve  their  natural  rela- 
tions to  the  fauna  and  flora  of  other  parts  of  the  world  V'  We  trace 
the  same  general  laws  throughout  nature,  and  there  can  be  no  room 
"  for  the  supposition  that,  while  men  inhabiting  different  parts  of 
the  world  originated  from  a  common  centre,  the  plants  and  animals 
now  associated  with  them,  in  the  same  countries,  originated  on  the 
spot  ;  such  inconsistencies  do  not  occur  in  the  laws  of  nature."  We 
have  additional  evidence  of  the  primitive  ubiquity  of  man  on  the 
earth  in  the  fact,  that,  wherever  men  have  migrated,  they  have 
found  aboriginal  nations  ;  we  have  no  record  of  people  migrating  to 
a  land  which  they  found  entirely  destitute  of  inhabitants. 

As  to  the  creation  of  a  single  pair,  or  pairs,  it  is  opposed  to  the 
economy  of  nature,  except  in  a  few  instances.  In  some  species  of 
animals,  both  sexes  are  of  equal  numbers  ;  in  some  there  are  many 
females  to  one  male  ;  in  others,  one  female  to  many  males,  as  the 
oee  ;  some,  in  which  a  single  individual  is  the  whole  species  ;  others, 


INTRODUCTION.  71 

in  which  many  individuals  live  a  common  life,  as  the  coral?.  —  so 
that  the  number  of  individuals  usually  found  together  is  one  of  the 
peculiar  natural  characteristics  of  species.  The  reproductive- 
of  animals  proves,  then,  that  many  of  them  were  not  created  in  single 
pairs,  or  in  a  number  of  pairs;  for  thus  they  could  not  haw  propa- 
gated their  species.  "  The  idea  of  a  pair  of  herrings  or  a  pair  of 
buffaloes  is  as  contrary  to  the  nature  and  habits  of  those  animals,  as 
it  is  contrary  to  the  nature  of  pines  and  birches  to  grow  singly,  and 
form  forests  in  their  isolation.  A  bee-hive  never  consists  of  a  pair 
a,  and  never  could  such  a  pair  preserve  the  species,  with  their 
habits."  "  Was  the  primitive  pair  of  lions  to  abstain  from  food 
until  the  gazelles  and  other  antelopes  had  sufficiently  multiplied  to 
preserve  their  races  from  the  persecution  of  those  ferocious  beasts  ?" 
We  find  the  same  animals  occurring  in  places  distant  from  each 
Other,  in  Europe  and  America,  under  such  circumstances  that  we 
must  admit  their  simultaneous  origin  in  both  centres.  Setting 
aside  the  possibility  of  the  conveyance  of  eggs  in  th  I  birds, 

&c.,  which,  after  having  been  rejected  or  laid  in  the  water,  may 
spread  species  to  a  certain  extent,  the  great  mass  of  facts  can  hardly 

be  explained  in  this  way.  unless  by  a  very  great  stretch  of  credulity. 

We  can  only  refer  to  this  paper*  by  Agassiz,  where  many  instances 

are  adduced,  which  show  that  animals  have  originated  primitively  over 

the  whole  extent  of  their  natural  distribution,  and  in  large  numbers; 
and  that  the  same  species  may  have  a  multiple  origin,  as  is  shown 
by  the  lions  in  A.frica,  the  fishes  of  the  Rhine,  Rhone,  and  Danube, 
1-  it  not,  then,  equivalent  to  making  physical  influences  more 
powerful  than  the  Creator,  to  trace  all  animals  from  a  common 
centre,  and  to  trust  the  production  of  animals  to  a  sin:;/'  ]>air, 
exposed  to  innumerable  accidents  from  climate  and  the  attacks  of 
other  animals  ?     In  the  words  ol  5,f  "  The  view  of  mankind 

as  originating  from  a  Bingle  pair,  Adam  and  Eve,  and  of  the  ani- 
mals and  plants  as  having  originated  from  one  common  centre,  winch 
was  at  the  same  time  the  cradle  of  humanity,  is  neither  a  biblical 
view  nor  a  correct  view,  nor  one  agreeing  with  the  results  of 
science  ;  and  our  profound  veneration  for  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
prompts  us  to  pronounce  the  prevailing  view  of  the  origin  of  man, 
animals  and  plants,  as  a  mere  human  hypothesis,  not  entitled  to 
more  consideration  than  belongs  to  most  theories  formed  in  the 
infancy  of  science." 

Considering,  then,  the  climatic  varieties  of  man   as   primitive, 

♦Christian  Examiner,  March,  1850.  tlbil. 


72  INTRODUCTION. 

the  question  of  the  plurality  of  races  is  converted  into  the  question 
whether  these  varieties  :m:  species. 

That  men  are  nearly  related,  physically  ami  mentally,  is  no  reason 
why  a  community  of  i  >uld  be  claimed  for  them;   we  have 

the  same  near  relations  among  animals,  for  which  community  of 
origin  lias  never  been  claimed.  For  instance,  the  carnivore  all 
ajrree  in  peculiar  teeth  and  claws  for  Beizing  their  prey;  in  a  short 
alimentary  canal  for  digesting  animal  food;  in  their  savagt 
unsocial  dispositions;  constituting  a  natural  unity  in  the  animal 
kingdom,  entirely  different  from  that  of  the  qnadrumana,  ruminantia, 
&c.  But  for  all  this,  who  ever  derived  the  wolf,  the  tiger  and  the 
bear  from  a  common  stock  ?  And  yet  they  exhibit  closer  resemblance 
of  dispositions  then  the  different  races  of  men.  Common  character 
does  not  prove  common  descent.  The  species  of  the  genus  Felis, 
so  similar  in  habits  and  structure,  were  never  supposed  to  be  one 
and  the  same  species;  for  the  same  reason,  there  may  be  different 
species  of  the  genus  Homo,  as  far  as  this  argument  is  concerned. 


Van  Amringe,*  speaking  of  the  incompleteness  and  obscurity  of 
the  Mosaic  account  of  the  creation  of  man,  asks,  whence  came  Cain's 
fear  that  some  one,  finding  him,  should  slay  him,  if  the  only  per- 
sons living,  at  the  death  of  Abel,  were  Adam,  Eve  and  himself? 
and  why  the  reply  of  the  Lord,  that  "  whosoever  slaveth  Cain, 
vengeance  shall  be  taken  on  him  sevenfold?''  and  whence  the  necessity 
of  putting  a  mark  on  him  ?  Surely  his  father  and  mother,  and  their 
descendants,  would  not  have  killed  him.  The  departure  of  Cain, 
his  marriage,  the  birth  of  his  son  Enoch,  and  his  building  a  city, 
took  place  before  the  birth  of  Seth.  the  next  human  being,  according 
to  Moses.  The  intermarriage  of  the  "sons  of  God"  with  the 
"  daughters  of  men*'  was  the  cause  of  the  wickedness  punished  by 
the  flood.  There  were  also  "  giants  in  the  earth  in  those  days," 
who  "  cannot  be  referred  to  Cain  as  their  progenitor,  because  four 
generations  from  Cain  are  mentioned,  among  whom  there  were  no 
giants  ;  and  these  are  sufficient  to  cover  the  whole  intermediate  time" 
to  the  epoch  of  the  flood,  [p.  57.]  All  these  point  to  a  race  of 
men  independent  of  Adam.  Even  though  all  the  descendants  of 
Adam,  except  Noah  and  his  family,  had  perished  in  the  flood,  there 
may  have  been  other  men,  in  parts  of  the  earth  not  reached  by  the 

*  Outline  of  a  New  Natural  History  of  Man,  founded  upon  Human  Anal- 
ogies.   By  W.  F.  Van  Amringe.     New  York,  1343. 


INTRODUCTION.  73 

Noachian  deluge,  who  escaped.  Those  who  wish  to  satisfy  them- 
selves on  the  limited  extent  of  the  deluge,  may  consult  with  advan- 
tage the  work  of  Dr.  John  Pye  Smith,  "  On  the  Relation  between 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  some  parts  of  Geological  Science." 

The  fact  that  so  many  learned  men  continue  to  attribute  the  varie- 
ties in  animals  to  climate,  food,  and  other  external  circumstances, 
and  the  various  human  races  to  the  same  causes,  can  only  be  accounted 
for  "  on  the  supposition  that  they  believe  the  subject  to  be  settled  by 
revelation  in  its  results;  and  that,  however  contrary  to  it  the  facts 
may  appear,  they  must  be  made  to  conform  to  it  in  their  conclu- 
sions ;"  this,  continues  Van  Amringe,  is  a  perverse  disregard  of  the 
inductive  method  of  philosophizing,  "  more  particularly  as,  from  our 
knowledge  of  the  various  nations  (if  the  globe,  all  the  known  facts 
are  decidedly  against  any  such  theory."  That  animals  change  to  a 
limited  extent,  we  know  ;  that  man  thus  changi  B,  we  do  not  know  ; 
and  that  he  must  so  change  is  based  solely  on  analogy.  The  human 
constitution  has  a  remarkable  power  of  adapting  itself  to  climate, 
which  animals  have  in  a  less  degree  ;  in  the  latter  we  expect  change, 
in  the  former  we  do  not  expect  it,  and  have  never  seen  it ;  there  is  no 
analogy,  in  this  respect,  between  man  and  animals. 

As  regards  the  changes  produced  by  food,  there  is  no  analogy 
between  animals  and  man  ;  the  former,  in  domestication,  usually 
depend  upon  a  single  article,  as  grass;  while  omnivorous  man,  if  he 
cannot  get  meat  or  vegetables,  can  fall  back  upon  "  train  oil,  spiders, 
6erpe"ts,  or  ant  eggs."  If  the  supply  fail  for  the  former,  changes 
will  ensue,  against  which  man  is  better  protected.  The  Jews  are 
a  remarkable  proof  that  climate  and  mode  of  living  do  not  change 
human  races  to  any  great  extent;  wanderers  in  every  land,  they  are 
now  as  distinct  as  they  were  two  thousand  years  ago  ;  the  unmixed 
Jew  is  recognized  at  a  glance. 

Prichard  and  his  followers  allow  that,  with  few  exceptions,  the 
varieties  of  domestic  animals,  if  left  to  themselves,  show  a  tendency 
to  return  to  a  supposed  primitive  type.  The  difficulty  of  keeping  up 
any  particular  breed  of  pigeons  or  rabbits  is  well  known  ;  sheep  con- 
tinually show  a  tendency  to  return  to  the  dark  color  of  the  wild 
mouflon  ;  "  black  sheep  annoy  the  farmer  by  appearing  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  carefully-bred  flock."  It  requires  continual  care  to  pre- 
vent even  the  dog,  the  most  modified  perhaps  of  all  animals,  from 
degenerating.  That  time  alone  does  not  alter  species  is  proved  by 
the  mummies  of  animals  found  in  the  catacombs  of  Egypt,  and  the 
representations  of  species,  identical  with  the  existing  ones,  on  the 
walla  of  the  temples  and  the  outer  cases  of  human  mummies.  ( Mar- 
tin, op.  cit.) 

7 


74  INTRODUCTION. 

The  color  of  the  human  skin  is  not  regarded  as  of  to  much  impor- 
tance as  it  formerly  was  ;  though  no  sufficient  reasons  are  given.  In 
every  animal  but  man,  color,  when  transmitted  from  generation  to 
generation  unchanged,  is  considered  of  specific  value.  It  is  said, 
though  without  any  facts  to  sustain  it,  that  climate  insensibly  pro- 
duces the  change  of  color  with  other  physical  changes.  If  climate 
can  change  a  white  into  a  black  man,  producing  what  we  claim  gen- 
erally as  a  specific  distinction,  what  difference  does  it  imply  to  admit 
the  general  doctrine  of  Lamarck  "  that  the  vast  variety  of  organisms 
were  produced  by  the  operation  of  laws,  by  development,  and  not  by 
direct  creation?''  There  is  no  reason  why  we  should  not  insist  on 
the  specific  value  of  color  in  man,  at  least  to  the  same  extent  as  we 
admit  it  in  animals.  Says  Van  Amringe,  "  The  moralqnestion  of  uni- 
versal brotherhood  and  its  consequent  obligations  is  not  affected  by 
making  the  permanent  differences,  acknowledged  by  all  to  prevail  in 
the  different  races  of  mankind,  to  owe  their  origin  either  to  the 
direct  or  indirect  agency  of  our  common  creation." 

M.  Flourens  considers  the  color  of  the  skin  more  characteristic  of 
distinctness  of  species  than  any  other  peculiarity  ;  but,  though  we 
may  accept  his  conclusions,  (for  reasons  which  will  hereafter  appear,) 
he  probably  labored  under  an  error  in  assuming  the  existence  of  a 
peculiar  membrane  in  the  Negro  skin,  which  is  entirely  wanting  in 
the  white  races.*  Allowing,  with  Ilenle  and  Simon,  that  the  skin 
is  not  composed  of  continuous  membranes,  but  of  layers  of  cells ;  of 
epidermic  cells,  among  which  are  interspersed  the  pigment  cells  on 
which  the  color  of  the  skin,  hair,  and  eyes,  depends;  the  fact  that 
the  microscope  was  necessary  to  discover  the  rete  Malpighii  in  the 
white  races,  while  "  in  the  dark  races  it  has  long  been  known,  and 
is  easily  discoverable,  and  separable  by  maceration,  without  a  micro- 
scope, and  that  it  increases  in  thickness  in  the  descending  series  of 
species,  until,  in  some  Negroes,  it  is  thicker  than  the  cuticle,"  is 
sufficient  to  show  that  the  functions  of  a  skin,  so  differently  pro- 
portioned in  the  various  races,  may  be  considered  specifically  adapted 
to  the  circumstances  under  which  the  several  varieties  of  man  were 
formed  to  live. 

Microscopic  examination  has  proved  that  the  hair  of  the  Negro  is 

*  "  The  uniform  color,"  says  Lawrence,  "  of  all  parts  of  the  body  is  a 
strong  argument  against  those  who  ascribe  the  blackness  of  the  Negic  to 
the  same  cause  as  that  which  produces  tanning  in  white  people  ;  namely, 
the  sun"s  rays.  Neither  is  the  peculiar  color  of  the  Negro  confined  to  the 
skin  ;  a  small  circle  of  the  conjunctiva,  round  the  cornea,  is  blackish,  and 
the  rest  of  the  membrane  has  a  yellowish  brown  tinge." 


INTRODUCTION  75 

not  "  wool,"  but  at  the  same  time  has  shown  that  it  is  of  a  very  dif- 
ferent texture  from  that  of  the  white  races.  There  is  an  actual 
difference  in  the  structure  of  the  hair  in  the  different  races ;  and  this 
difference  does  not  depend  on  the  color,  for  the  black  hail  of  the 
Negro  is  not  at  all  like  the  equally  black  hair  of  the  European.  The 
hair  of  the  Albino  Negro,  "  whether  red  or  flaxen,  is  as  knotty,  as 
wiry,  and  as  woolly,  as  that  of  his  sable  parents."  The  closest  curls 
of  the  European  head  never  approach  the  short  wiry  hair  of  the 
African,  unless  the  races  have  been  mixed  ;  and  it  should  be  recol- 
lected that  such  a  single  mixture  may  have  an  influence  for  several 
generations. 

Are,  then,  the  differences  which  characterize  the  several  races  of 
men  analogous  in  kind  and  degree  to  those  which  distinguish  the 
breeds  of  domestic  animals  ?  And  are  they  to  be  accounted  for  on 
the  same  principles  ? 

It  is  maintained  that  the  effects  of  domestication  on  animals  and 
the  effects  of  civilization  on  man  are  analogous.  This  supposes  that 
the  original  condition  of  man  was  wild  like  that  of  animals  ;  that  he 
emerged  from  this  condition,  became  domestic,  and  domesticated 
certain  animals  with  the  same  results  for  them  as  for  him.  All 
these  suppositions  are  necessary,  and  all  have  been  taken  fur  granted, 
and  used  accordingly.  That  civilization  has  not  produced  physical 
changes  in  man,  the  authors  themselves  admit,  when  they  refer  this 
or  that  ancient  skull  to  the  Caucasian  or  Ethiopian  race,  according 
to  its  characters,  which  implies  permanence  of  the  distinguishing 
marks.  This  is  proved  by  all  history  ;  by  the  monuments  of  Egvpt, 
which  show  that  4000  years  of  civilization,  at  any  rate,  have  not 
changed  man.  Says  Van  Amringe,  "  If  it  could  be  proved  that  a 
mouse  changed  to  an  ox  by  domestication,  we  imagine  that  it  would 
be  insufficient  to  prove  that  man  suffered  physical  change  by  civiliza- 
tion, in  opposition  to  undoubted  records  to  the  contrary." 

Man  is  the  most  domestic  of  animals ;  domesticity  is  in  him  "  a 
natural  instinct,  a  law  of  his  being,  a  principle  upon  which  all  of  his 
virtues,  all  of  his  civilization,  all  of  his  progress  in  this  world, 
depends  ;"  but  domestication  in  animals,  far  from  being  instinctive, 
or  a  law  of  their  nature,  is  "  a  violence  done  to  them,  a  tyranny 
exercised  over  them  ;  it  is  a  slavery  so  absolute  and  perfect  that 
their  very  natures  are  subdued,  and  their  natural  instincts,  as  far  as 
opposed  to  man's  interest,  blunted  and  overpowered."  Their  tem- 
pers are  modified,  their  bony  structure  even  is  changed,  by  an 
unnatural  climate,  food,  and  management.  Improvements  in  domes- 
ticated animals  are  degenerations  in  regard  to  the  animals  themselves. 
The  difference  between  the  skulls  of  the  wild  boar  and  the  domestic 


7G  INTRODUCTION. 

hog  is  constantly  adduced,  as  analogous  to  the  differences  between 
the  Caucasian  and  Negro  cranium.    15ut  look  nt  the  cause  of  ch 
the  wild  animal   is  confined  in  a  Bty,  where  his  natural  instinct  of 
rooting  in  the  ground,  for  which  his  h  iad  is  especially  adapted,  can- 
not be  exercised  ;   the  powerful  muscles  attached  t<>  the  m 
being  called  into  play,  the  bones  to  which  they  are  attached,  by  a 
physiological  law  ,  are  modified  accordingly.    <  Civilization,  on  the  con- 
trary, places  man  in  a  position  whet  tural  powers  are  mora 
advantageously  exercised  and  increased.  ation  in  animals 
is  a  life  of  unnatural  constraint  and  real  degeneration.    There  i 
only  ii"              ,  but  not  even  the  slightest  resemblance,  between  them; 
and,  consequently,  physical  differences  dependent  thereon  cannot  lie 
considered  analogous.     If  the  physical  cha                Lomestication  are 
analogous  to  any  physical  changes  of  man,  it  must  be   of  ci\ 
man,  according  to  their  analogy  ;    hut  we  have  seen  that  civilization 
does  not  physically  change  man;   and,  moreover,  where   would   bo 
the  analogies  of  the  savage  tribes  of  the  greater  part  of  our  globe, 
among  whom  exists  the  only  difficulty  to  be  explained  1 

Neither  are  the  moral  and  intellectual  qualities  of  man  anal 
in  kind  and  degree  to  the  qualities  of  domestic  animals.     Dr.  Prich- 
ard  talks   about  "psychological  chat  »"  of  animals,  as  if 

they  had  suoh.      Animals  have  but  ;i  tare,  a  bodily  nature, 

depending  on,  and  connected  with,  their  external  senses  ;  man  lias, 
in  addition,  a  spiritual  nature,  connecting  him  with  eternity,  which 
animals  have  not.  Animals  have  no  moral  nature.  Man  is,  also,  a 
progressive  being,  and  must  therefore  have  an  intellectual  element, 
capable  of  improvement.  Animals  are  created  perfect,  with  instincts 
capable  of  no  improvement;  animals  have  no  intellectual  nature  ; 
animals  of  themselves  never  improve  ;  man  improves  of  himself, 
from  a  law  of  his  nature.*  In  any  view,  therefore,  animals  furnish 
no  analogies  with  man,  in  either  physical,  moral  or  intellectual  prop- 

*Prichard's  theory  required  that  animals  should  be  the  analogues  of 
men,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  to  raise  animals,  or  sink  man  to  their 
level.  By  merely  substituting  the  word  "psychological"  for  "instinct- 
ive "  characteristics,  says  Van  Amringe,  he  raised  the  whole  animal 
kingdom  to  the  required  level.  He  thus  got  related  the  psychology  of 
animals  and  man,  "  without  the  trouble  of  philosophically  accomplishing 
so  impossible  a  thing  ;"  and  thus  obtained  "  a  specious  right  to  use  bees 
and  wasps,  rats  and  dogs,  sheep,  goats  and  rabbits,  in  short,  the  whole 
animal  kingdom,  as  human  psychical  analogues,  which  would  be  amaz- 
ingly convenient,  when  conclusions  were  to  be  made." 


INTRODUCTION'.  77 

erties,  which  can  be  legitimately  used  to  assist  in  the  natural  history 
of  mankind. 

This  doctrine,  that  the  varieties  of  man  have  arisen  from  native  or 
congenital  varieties,  "  rests  entirely,"  says  Van  Auninge,  "  upon 
supposed  analogy,  in  this  respect,  between  domestic  animals  and 
man."  This  doctrine  would  never  have  been  adopted  in  any 
country  but  England,  where  the  breeding  of  domestic  animals  has 
been  carried  to  Buch  perfection.  Hut  even  here  the  analogy  fails ; 
every  breeder  knows  "  that  an  improved  animal  has  a  greater 
tendency  to  defect  than  to  perfection  ;"  there  is  a  constant  tendency 
to  deterioration.  The  varieties  of  domestic  animals  are  produced 
only  by  the  greatest  skill  and  perseverance,  and  are  only  pre- 
served by  the  utmost  care  in  feeding  and  general  management. 
"  Breeding  in  and  in,  closely,  constitutes  a  kind  of  hybrid  race, 
by  enervating  the  procreative  power.  Thus  the  highly-bred 
new  Leicester  cattle  were  speed  Ij  extinguished."  How  differ- 
ent in  the  case  of  the  human  races!  Such  precautions  never  have 
been  taken  ;  yet,  to  make  out  any  analogy,  they  oughl  to  have  been 
observed.  How,  then,  can  it  be  inferred,  from  analogy,  that  an 
accidental  human  variety  might  have  become  permanent  without  the 
slightest  care?  If  it  be  said,  with  Mr.  Lawrence,  that  the  Negro 
and  the  European  are  the  two  extremes  of  a  very  long  gradation, 
with  innumerable  intermediate  stages,  il  may  be  replied,  there  is  no 
Buch  gradation  in  domestic  animals,  whose  colors  change  by  very 
sudden  degrees,  as  n  were  by  leaps  ;  here  analogy  fails  again. 
How  came  it,  too,  "  that  some  of  these  changes  were  arrested  in 
their  intermediate  stages,  while  others  proceeded  to  an  extreme 
black  ?"  History  reaches  far  hack  towards  the  flood,  yet  makes  no 
mention  of  such  changes  in  man. 

Too  much  importance  has  been  attached  to  individual  examples,  by 
which  almost  any  extravagance  might  be  sustained.  It  has  been 
too  hastily  inferred  from  the  "  porcupine  men,"  and  such  congenital 
monsters,  observed  for  a  short  period  only,  that  accidental  varieties 
may  account  for  the  differences  of  the  human  races. 

Authors  have  not  agreed  as  to  what  is  a  species ;  each  one 
defining  it  to  suit  his  purpose.  To  Prichard's  definition  is  attached 
what  he  calls  a  "  permanent  variety,"  which  differs  from  a  species 
in  the  changes  not  being  coeval  with  the  tribe.  Though  a  most 
important  point,  it  is,  on  his  part,  a  mere  assumption,  for  he  does 
not  mention  a  single  fact  in  support  of  it.  Showing  that  domestic 
animals  change,  and  that  they  differ  from  each  other  as  much  as 
man  does  from  man,  neither  proves  any  relation  between  them,  nor 
7* 


78  IMTEODUCTIOK. 

lhatBUch  diversities  have  arisen  in  man  $ina  I 
tute  ;i  deviation  from  his  original c\ 

Taking  l>r.  Morton's  definition  of  a  primordial  or 

farm,"  which  implies  a  uniformity  of  anatomical  and  ph 
organization  from  the  I"  ginning,  let  i  fanj 

can  be  made  out  in  man,  on  n  other  ai 

Owen   (Van    A.mringe,   p,    263)  gives  twenty-three  diffei 
tween   the  orang-outang  and   the    chimpanzee,    which   were    long 
regarded  as  one  species  ;  only  four  of  these  are  instance 
distinci  structure,  viz.,  an  additional  pairofril 
a  double  series  of  bones   in  the  sternum,  the  non-division  of  the 
pisiform  bone  of  the  wrist,  and  having  two  phalanges  in  the 
toe,  wnli  a  nail.     The  other  differences  relate  to  shape,  length  and 
tence  of  parts;  but,  as  function  follows  organization,  and  all 
the  habits  and  instincts  of  the  animal  depend  upon  it,  these  diffi  i 
were  considered  of  specific  vaJ 

Van  Amringe  (|>.  868)  gives  the  follow 
which  the  Negro  differs  from  the  Caucasian:      1.  The  cranium  is 
compressed   laterally,  elongated  towards  the  front,  retreating  from 
the  superciliary  ridges,  and  smaller  in  pn 

The  frontal  and  parietal  bones  are  le  <ious. 

3.  The   temporal   ridge  mount*  .   nearly  t<>  the  top  of  the 

head.     (To  be  added  the  peculiarity  mentioned  by  Prich- 

ard   in  the  Ajshantee  skull,  that  the  sphenoid  bone  does   not 
the  parietal  bone.)      4.   The  temporal  fossa  and  zygoma  are  larger, 
stronger,  and  more  capacious.     5.  The  cheek-bon  I   more, 

and  are  stronger,  broader  and  thicker.     .">.   Tl bits  arc   1 

especially  the  external  aperture.  7.  The  055a  nasi  are  flatter  and 
shorter,  and  run  together  above  into  an  acute  angle.  8.  The 
of  the  ethmoid  bone  are  more  complicated,  and  the  cribriform  lamella 
more  extensive.  9.  The  jaws  are  larger  and  stronger,  the  alveolar 
incisive  portion  projecting.  10.  The  chin  is  receding  and  rudimen- 
tary. 11.  The  foramen  magnum  and  occipital  condyles  are  in  a 
more  backward  position.  12.  The  skull  is  heavier,  and  denser,  and 
harder,  particularly  the  sides.  13.  The  fore-arm  is  proportionally 
longer.  11.  The  hand  and  fingers  arc  proportionally  narrower  and 
longer;  (according  to  Agassiz,  the  fingers  are  more  webbed.)  15. 
Sesamoid  bones  are  general  ;  rare  in  the  Caucasian.  16.  The  pelvis 
is  longer  and  narrower.      17.  The  femur,  tibia,  and  fibula,  are  more 

*  Variety  implies  want  of  permanence,  and  a  tendency  to  return,  sooner 
or  later,  to  the  original  type  ;  and  we  know  of  no  animals,  permanently 
uistinct  from  others,  which  can  be  undoubtedly  traced  to  the  same 
original  source. 


INTRODUCTION.  79 

cormx,  or  gibbous.  18.  The  femur  and  tibia  are  bo  articulated, 
that  the  knees  are  generally  thrown  outwards.  19.  The  us  calcis, 
instead  of  forming  an  arch  with  the  tarsus,  is  horizontal,  (the  pos- 
terior portion  longer,)  and  the  foot  fiat.* 

'rinse  variations  in  structure  imply  variety  of  function,  habit  and 
powers.  Psychical  powers  may  be  greatly  influenced  by  Blight 
anatomical  dill'  :  bo  slight  sarcely  appreciable  by 

the  anatomist,  and  y.  t  confer  a  character  upon  the  beings  mure 
widely  different  in  every  respect,  than  all  the  thumbs,  tails,  cheek- 
pouches,  and  callosities  in  the  monkey  family."  W  e  musl  aol  dis- 
i  tlirin,  simply  because  thi  .dually  one  into  the  other; 

lor  this  ire  have  seen  is  true  of  the  whole  animal  kingdom,  which 
tainly  not  nil  oi 

\)w\  form,  if  constant  and  uniform,  is  of  speciju  value,  for 
it  implies  a  differei of  m  ana  to  attain  the  same  end. 

Differenc  lue  in  denning  species  in  ani- 

mals. "The  lion  is  not  mop-  regularly  tawny,  the  tiger  more  regu- 
larly streaked,  nor  the  leopard  more  regularly  spotted,  than  the  sev- 
eral races  of  men  are  uniformly  distinguished  from  each  other  by 
their  coloi 

Difference  of  hair  has  be»  d  sufficiently  alluded  to  ;  being  perma- 
nent in  the  respective  races,  il  is  of  specific  value. 

We  tee  mankind  confined  to  distinct  localities,  with  permanent 
distinctions  of  form  and  color;  with  different  social  relations, 
on,  governments,  habits  and  intellectual  powers;  the  same 
from  the  remotest  historical  time.     The  psychic  ices  among 

men  are  as  usually  fori  differences  in  animals.    In 

■  lucasian  nations,  generally,  we  see  the  rights  of  woman 
acknowledged  and  established;  enlightened  governments,  just  laws, 
a  rational  system  of  religion,  commi  roe,  agriculture,  art  and 
science  in  the  highest  known  perfection.  In  the  Mongolian  races, 
woman  is  a  slave,  an  article  of  merchandise,  government  despotic, 
religion  idolatrous,  laws  unjust  and  bloody,  commerce,  agriculture, 
in  a  low  state  ;  all  the  arts  of  life  little  advanced,  and  stationary 
for  ages.  In  the  American  races,  the  state  of  things  is  worse  still  ; 
and  in  the  African,  at  the  lowest  point.  If  it  he  said  thai  these  are 
the  results  of  education  and  circumstances,  a  difference  of  capacity 
must  still  lie  at  the  bottom.  The  causes  which  have  produced 
these  resu  ts  ''  operated  in  full  force  anterior  to  profane  history,  and 
have  never  since  varied  ;  consequently,  the  naturalist  may  fairly  take 
it  for  gra  ted  that  they  are  natural  causes,    until  the   contrary  is 

*  And,  according  to  Dr.  Knox,  the  nervous  system,  and  every  muscle  of 
the  body  is  different. 


80  INTBODl  '  11 

proved  by  something  mote  than  a  mere  speculation,  or  presump- 
tion, thai  they  are  accidental." 

The  constitutional  temperaments  of  the  different  races,  on  which 

the   author   just   quoted    lays    so    much  stress,    seem    to  in 
their   capacity  fur  improvement.     There  variety  in  the 

white  races ;  while  the  other  races  are  noted  for  a  great  apparent 
uniformity,  so  thai  to  have  seen  <>n"  of  a  race,  you  have  seen  the 
whole.      The  dark    races    have   a    lese  bility  than 

the  white.      Dr.    Mosely    (Treatise   on    Tropical    D 
•■  Negroes  are  void  of  sensibility  to  a  surprising  degree.     They  are 
not  subject  to  nervous  diseases.      They  sleep  sound  in  every  di 
nor   does   any   mental  disturbance   ever   keep   them   awake.      Tie  v 
hear  chirurgical  operations  much  heller  than  white  people  ;  arid  what 
would  be  the  cause  of  insupportable  pain   to  a  white  man,  a  N 
would   almost  disregard."     The    American  dark    races   bear  with 
indifference  tortures  insupportable  to  a  white  man.     Is  it  not  pot 
says  Van   Amringe,  that   the   increased  coloring   matter  in   the  skin 
protects  the  subjacent  nerves   to  a   greateT  extent  against    i  sternal 
impressions?      He  States,   on  what  he  considers  good  authority,  that 
the  Negro  expires  less  carbonic  acid  than  the  white  man.      "  Hence 
Africans  seldom   have   fetid   breath,  but  transpire   the    fetid   matter, 
somewhat  modified,  chiefly  by  the  skin."     This  would  explain  the 
greater  amount  of  oily  substance  with  which  the  black  skin  abounds, 
by  concentratine;  in    the  integument  a  larger  quantity  of  carbon,  the 
chief  element  of  the  fixed  oils.* 

Dr.  Prichard  thinks  that  the  liability  of  all  the  races  to  the  same 
diseases  is  an  evidence  of  identity  of  species.  Everybody  knows 
that  some  races  are  more  liable  than  others  to  certain  diseases.  The 
torpidity  of  the  blacks  under  disease  is  well  known  to  physicians  who 
have  practised  much  amonj  them  ;  the  Negroes  are  more  exempt 
from  nervous  diseases  and  the  yellow  fever,  but  more  subject  to  the 
"yaws.''  If  we  regard  all  men  of  one  species,  simply  because  they 
have  the  same  diseases,  we  shall  have  to  include  the  monkeys,  cows, 
horses,  dogs,  &c,  in  the  human  family,  for  they  have  consumption, 
vaccine  disease,  glanders,  hydrophobia,  &c.      It   is  known  that  epi- 

*  It  has  been  ascertained,  abundantly,  in  the  East,  (according  to  Dr. 
Allen,  "  on  the  Opium  Trade,")  that  the  effects  of  opium  on  the  Xegro  and 
Indian  appear  rather  on  the  digestive,  circulating,  and  respiratory  func- 
tions, than  in  the  cerebral  and  nervous  system  ;  in  the  whites  and  Mongo- 
lians, it  acts  more  directly  on  the  mind,  though  its  effects  on  the  body  are 
not  lessened ;  this  accords  with  the  alleged  inferior  development  or  sensi- 
bility of  the  nervous  system  in  the  dark  races. 


INTRODUCTION.  81 

demies  have,  from  the  earliest  ages,  equally  affected  men  and  ani- 
mals ;  the  causes,  the  symptoms,  the  pathology,  the  treatment,  are 
the  same  in  epidemics  and  epizootics.  This  shows,  not  that  men  are 
of  one  species,  —  if  it  does^animals  belong  to  the  sam  3  man, 

—  but  that   men  are  of  different  Bpee  Borne  races  ate  very 

liable  to  certain  diseases  from  which  others  are  almost  exempt. 

Van  Amringe  considers  that  the  relations  between  male  and  female 
point  to  specific  distinctions  in  the  human  race-;.  If  we  go  back  to  the 
remotest  historic  period  we  find  that  tiie  condition  of  woman  has 
always  been  higher  in  proportion  to  civilization  :  the  white  races 
have  always  manifested  a  tendency  to  honor  and  esteem  woman; 
the  dark  races  have  always  considered  her  rather  as  a  Blave  than  as 
a  companion  and  equal.  The  prevalence  of  this  rule  in  species,  taken 
is  a  whole,  from  the  earliest  times  and  under  all  modifying  influ< 

ndicates  a  natural  difference  of  mental  constitution  or  temperament ; 
education   has  modified,  but  can   never  change   it.      The  standard  of 

seauty  is  different  in  the  various  races,  physically,  morally,  and  in- 
tellectually ;  and  this  difference  of  taste  has  been  one  of  the  chief 
means  of  keeping  distinct  the  different  species  of  men. 


It  was  thought  by  Buffon,  Hunter,  and  others,  and  is  generally 
believed  at  the  present  day,  that  the  offspring  of  two  distinct  species 
are  incapable  of  reproducing  their  kind  ;  thus  hybridity  lias  been  made 
a  test  of  specific  character.  By  some,  hybrids  are  considered  as 
affording  the  strongest  proofs  of  the  reality  and  distinctness  of  species  ; 
by  others,  they  are  thought  to  show  that  all  the  present  varieties  of 
animal  and  vegetable  life  were  derived  from  a  comparative! s-  few 
original  types.  Assuming  it  to  be  a  law  of  nature  that  hybrids  are 
Sterile,  it  is  maintained  that  all  mankind  must  belong  to  one  and  the 
same  species,  since  all  the  races  are  capable  of  producing  a  fertile 
progeny  with  each  other.  Dr.  Morton*  has  examined  this  subject 
with  great  care,  and  has  collected  a  great  number  of  authentic  facts 
of  hybrids  producing  fertile  offspring,  in  mammalia,  birds,  fishes, 
insects,  and  plants.  In  the  higher  animals,  he  gives  examples  even 
from  different  genera.  In  birds,  they  are  very  numerous,  especially 
in  the  gallinaceous  tribes.  In  plants,  they  are  so  common  that  Mr. 
Herbert  maintains  that  botanical  species  are  only  a  higher  and  more 
permanent  type  of  varieties,  and  he  would  discard  them  altogether, 
retaining  only  the  genera  to  designate  those  characters  which  have 
hitherto  been   attributed  to  species.     It  thus  appears  that  mules  are 

*  Hybridity  in  Animals  and  Plants,  considered  in  reference  to  the  ques- 
tion of  the  Unity  of  the  Human  Species.  By  S.  G.  Morton,  M.  D.  Phila- 
delphia. 


82  IXlKol'K  T10N*. 

not  always  tten'e,  even  in  :i  state  of  nature.  Still,  it  must  be 
observed  that  hybridity  is  much  the  most  common  among  domesticated 
annuals,  and  that  the  capacity  for  fertile  hybridity  is  in  proportion 
to  the  aptitud  ■  of  animals  for  domestication. 

Dr.  Bacbman  (as  has  been  seen  before)  rejects  the  authorities  of 
Dr.  Morton,  as  unworthy  of  credit;  among  which  authority 
Buffbn,  Temminck,  Hamilton  Smith,  Cuvier,  Chevreul,  dvc  In 
snbsequenl  articles*  Dr.  Morton  gives  additional  reasons  for  li is 
positions  in  regard  ti>  hybrids.  Respecting  hybrids  of  the  sheep  and 
goat,  the  tarts  of  M.  Chevreul  wen-  fully  admitted  by  Bufibo  and 
Cuvier.     The  dogmatical  assertion  that  tl  are  both  of  one 

species,  and  the  quoted  authority  of  Buffon  in  support  of  it.  merit 
no  attention,  sim-e  Bufibn's  opinion  was  founded  solely  on  tin 
that  the  camel  and  the  dromedary  produced  a  fertile  «.ii- 
sr.      In  Layard's  plates  of  Nineveh  are  represented  the  camel  and  the 
dromedary  as  distinct  as   they  are  now  ;    this    dates    as    far    bfl 
2000  years  before   Christ.      There  can    he  no  doubt   that  the  wolf 
and  the  dog  copulate  voluntarily,  and  that  races  have  be  d  formed 
in    this  manner.     No  one  will    probably  pretend  that  all  wolves 
are    of    one   Bpec  though    they    maintain    that    the    dogs 

are,  and  that  the  latter  are  the  descendants  of  the  former.  Hy- 
brids between  the  horse  and  ass  are  well  known  to  be 
prolific.  As  to  hybrids  in  birds,  we  need  only  mention  the  hvhrid 
grouse,  (Tetrao  medius,)  which  is  very  generally  admitted  to  be  the 
mule-bird  produced  by  the  wood-grouse  (T.  orogallus)  and  the 
black  grouse  (T.  tetrix).  This  is  now  the  opinion  of  Temminck, 
who  is  "  good  authority"  in  ornithology;  he  confesses  that  he  no 
longer  regards  it  as  a  true  species,  in  a  work  published  ten  years 
ago,  though  Dr.  Bachman  claims  Temminck  as  showing  the  contrary. 
at  confusion  has  resulted  from  the  habit  of  regarding  hybrid- 
ity as  a  unit,  whereas  its  facts  may  be  classified  like  other 
series  of  physiological  phenomena.  Dr.  Morton  makes  four  /' 
of  hybridity.  1st.  That  in  which  the  hybrids  never  reproduce,  the 
mixed  offspring  ending  with  the  first  cross  ;  this  is  the  case  with 
almost  all  domesticated  birds,  however  different  their  generic  rela- 
tions. 2nd.  That  in  which  the  hybrids  are  incapable  of  reproduction, 
inter  se,  but  multiply  by  union  with  the  parent  stock  ;  this  is  the 
case  with  the  species  of  the  genus  Bos.  3d.  That  in  which  animals 
of  unquestionably  distinct  species  produce  a  progeny  prolific  inter  se  ; 
as  the  wolf  and  dog,  and  other  species  of  the  genus  canis.      4th.   That 

*  Letter    to    Rev.    John   Bachman.    and   Additional    Observations    on 
Hybridity  in  Animals.     Charleston.  1850. 


INTRODUCTION.  83 

which  takes  place  between  closely  proximate  species,  as  strong  man- 
kind and  the  common  domestic  animals  essential  to  liis  happiness. 

According  to  Mr.  Eyton,  (Proceedings  of  Zoo],  Soc.,  London,  Feb. 
1837,)  the  offspring  of  the  Chinese  hog  and  the  common  European 
hojj  are  prolific  inter  se;  now  these  animals  differ  from  the  wild 
boar,  and  the  French  hog,  in  the  Dumber  of  the  vertebra  as  follows: 
60,  55,  15,  and  53.  To  say  that  these  are  all  domestic  varieties  of 
one  sp  tlowing  too  much  to  the  semi-domestication  of  these 

animals.  It  is  much  less  difficult  to  believe  with  Hamilton  Smith  (on 
Canidas)  that  this  is  "a  case  of  providential  arrangemenl  for  b  given 
purpose,  ami  that  there  are  time,  if  not  four,  original  species  (includ- 
ing the  African)  with  powers  to  commix."     (p.  94.) 

The  exit  ot  of  the  argument  thai  can  be  drawn  from  the  phenomena 
of  hybridity  as  regards  man,  is  (as  Temminck  has  remarked  of  /■ink) 
"  that  the  occurrence  of  the  prolific  offspring  between  the  different 
races  shows  that  there  is  a  near  affinity  between  the  species." 


Wl  shall  conclude  this  abstract  by  a  few  remarks  in  favor  of  the 
diversity  of  the  human  races,  drawn  from  various  sources  of  modern 
date,  expressing  our  own  opinion  from  a  careful  study  of  the  phenom- 
ena, and  from  personal  observation. 

Those  who  maintain  the  one-pair  theory  deny  the  permanent    of 

and  place  gTl  at  stress  upon  the  capacity  for  variation  in 
animals,  and  therefore  in  man;  and,  when  difficulties  arise  which 
cannot  be  explained  by  the  usual  causes,  they  invoke  the  aid  of 
variation  and  accidental  generation. 

Allowing  for  the  m nt  thai  civilization  in  man  and  domestica- 
tion in  animals  are  analogous  conditions,  (which  is  of  vital  impor- 
tance to  their  theory,)  lei  us  Bee  whal  can  be  established  in  regard 
to  changes  produced  by  climate  and  externa]  influences. 

The  capacity  lor  variation  is  certainly  great  in  our  domestic  ani- 
mal-, submitted  as  they  are  to  various  unnatural  circumstances. 

The  most  commonly  used  argument  in  this  connection  is  fur- 
nished by  the  varieties  of  the  dog-,  which  are  considered  as  belonging 
to  one  species.  To  say  nothing,  however,  of  the  "  petitio  principii  " 
here,  in  assuming  the  point  wished  to  be  proved,  many  eminent  nat- 
uralists believe  that  there  are  several  species  of  dojrs.  The  objec- 
tion of  F.  Cuvicr  that,  "  if  we  begin  to  make  species,  we  cannot 
stop  short  at  live  or  six,  but  must  go  on  indefinitely,"  is  of  no 
weight  ;  the  most  it  can  do  is  to  show  us  the  exceedingly  vajjue 
meaning  of  the  word   species,  and  that  we   have   not  yet  arrived   at 


84  ENTRODl  I  HON. 

the  true  distinction  between  species  ami  variety.      Tin;   "  permanent 

variety  "  of  Dr.  Prichard,  from  bis  own  definiti is  to  all  intents 

and  purposes  "a  species."  Says  Hamilton  Smith,  (Naturalist's 
Library  :  <>n  Dogs,)  no  instance  can  bi  shown  "  in  the  whole  circle 
of  mammiferous  annuals,  where  the  influence  of  man,  by  edocation 
and  servitude,  has  been  able  to  develop  and  combine  facultii 
anatomical  forms  so  different  and  opposite  as  we  S68  them  ill  dif- 
ferent races  of  does,  unless  the  typical  species  were  first  in  pos- 
session of  their  rudiments."  (p.  LOO.)  Form  and  size  may  thus  be 
somewhat  changed,  but  climate  cannot  have  effected  much,  as  the 
two  extremes  are  found  in  hot  and  cold  regions.  Food  can  do  no 
more,  since  the  man  living  on  vegetables  or  fish  retains  bis  facul- 
ties as  well  as  he  who  lives  on  flesh.  Food  or  climate  will  not  BO 
widen  or  truncate  the  muzzle,  nor  raise  the  frontals,  nor  produce  a 
1 1  <_» 1 1 1  and  slender  structure,  nor  take  away  the  sense  of  smell,  and 
several  other  of  the  best  qualifications  of  the  dog,  (as  in  grey- 
hounds.) These  qualities  we  cannot  but  consider  as  indications  of 
different  types,  whose  combinable  properties  have  enabled  man  to 
multiply  several  required  species.  Ask  sportsmen  and  breeders, 
who  are  led  by  inferences  from  their  own  observations,  and  do  not 
follow  the  authority  of  high  names;  they  will  tell  you  the  same. 
In  absence,  then,  of  positive  proof,  we  have  every  reason  to  doubt 
that  the  differences  of  domestic  dogs  can  be  referred  to  a  single  spe- 
cies, and  especially  that  the  wolf  is  the  parent  stock.  There  are, 
indeed,  several  species  of  wolves,  which  might  come  in  for  a  share 
of  the  paternity  of  the  dogs,  which  would  hardly  be  in  favor  of  the 
latter  beimr  varieties  of  a  single  species,  unless  some  one  will  ven- 
ture to  point  out  the  exact  species  of  wolf.  If  it  be  said  there 
is  only  one  species  of  wolf,  then  it  is  useless  to  quote  animal  analo- 
gies, for  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  species  in  animated  nature ;  and 
we  might  as  well  adopt  Lamarck's  or  Monboddo's  development  the- 
orv  at  once,  from  which  such  views  as  are  maintained  respecting 
the  varieties  of  dogs  are  not  very  distant.  The  influences  which 
could  change,  without  intermixture,  the  bull-dog  into  the  greyhound, 
might  well  change  a  White  into  a  Xcgro,  or  a  monkey  into  a  man. 
We  must  admit  several  aboriginal  species,  with  faculties  to  intermix, 
including  the  wolf,  dingo,  jackal,  buansu,  anthus,  &c,  as  parents  of 
our  dogs  ;  that  even  the  dhole  or  a  thous  may  have  been  the  parent 
of  the  greyhound  races  ;  and  that  a  lost  or  undiscovered  species, 
allied  to  Canis  tricolor  or  Hyaena  venatica,  may  have  been  the  source 
of  the  short-muzzled,  strong-jawed  mastiffs.  Smith,  moreover,  c 
the  dogs  according  to  their  apparent  affinities  with  wild  originals  in 
neighboring  latitudes,  —  the  Arctic  dogs  with   the  wolves  ;   south  of 


INTRODUCTION.  85 

the   Equator  there  being  no  wolves,  he  refers  the  dogs  in  the  Old 
World  to  the  jackal,  &C,  in  the  New  World  to  the  Aguani  fox  dogs. 

We  have  been  thus  particular  on  the  subject  of  the  dogs,  as 
they  have  been  triumphantly  appealed  to  as  arguments  in  favor  of 
the  unity  of  the  human  races;  they  certainly  show  little  positively 
in  favor  of  this  view,  and  much  negatively  against  it. 

lint,  even  among  animals,  there  is  a  very  great  difference  in  their 
capacity  for  variation,  which  renders  any  argument  that  might  be 
drawn  from  them  of  little  value.  The  mouse,  lor  instance,  shows 
very  little  disposition  to  change,  in  color  or  form  ;  the  brown  rat  of 
Persia,  now  spread  over  the  world,  very  nearly  preserves  its  original 
type.  According  to  Dr.  S.  G.  .Morton,  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sciences, 
Phil.,  April,  1850,)  the  reindeer  of  Lapland  do  not  change  in  the 
slightest  particular  after  long  domestication  ;  the  peacock  has  not 
varied  for  thousands  of  years.  Some  animals,  in  two  or  three  gen- 
erations, are  entirely  changed  in  color,  as  tin-  Guinea-pig  and  tur- 
key; sometimes  even  the  anatomical  structure  changes,  as  in  the 
pigeon,  sheep,  and  dog ;  some  animals,  even  in  the  wild  stale, 
undergo  great  changes,  e.g.,  the  fox-squirrel,  (Sciurus  captstratus,) 
whose  black  variety  is  not  to  be  confounded  with  the  unchanging 
Schtrtu  niger.  The  tiger  is  the  same  in  tint,  under  considerable 
rariety  of  climate,  from  Siberia  to  Ceylon.  In  the  province  of 
Delhi,  Bishop  lleber  saw  a  shaggy  elephant ;  he  Bays  that  in  one  or 
two  winters  dogs,  and  even  horses,  brought  from  Europe,  become 
woolly  in  that  region,  whose  men  are  remarkable  for  the  length  and 
Btraightness  of  their  hair.  Dr.  Morton  also  remarks  that  the  wool 
of  sheep  becomes  Ion?  and  hairy  in  Guinea,  where  human  hair  is 
wiry  and  twisted.  So  that  the  causes  which  change  the  lower  ani- 
mals, do  not  alTect  man.  In  this  respect  one  animal  is  not  an  ana- 
logue even  for  another  animal,  still  less  is  an  animal  an  analogue  for 
man. 

If  the  races  of  man  are  analogous  to  the  varieties  of  animals, 
why  does  not  he,  under  similar  circumstances,  tend  to  a  uniform 
type?  Why  do  not  these  varieties  occur  before  our  eyes  among  eiv- 
i/it'il  /nan,  who  has  been  called  the  most  domestic  of  animals?  and 
the  more  frequently  as  civilization,  with  its  many  unnatural  accom- 
paniments, makes  progress  ?  The  capacity  for  variation  may  explain 
temporary  varieties  of  men  and  animals,  but  it  cannot  account  for 
the  permanent  ran' tics,  or  species. 

The  characteristics  most  relied  on  for  the  discrimination  of  the 
races  are  ttie  color  of  the  skin,  the  structure  of  the  hair,  and  the 
conformation  of  the  skull  and  skeleton.  There  are  several  evident 
types  of  these   marks  in  the  races;   the   transition,   however,  is  so 


86  INTRODUCTION. 

gradual  from  one  to  the  other,  that  it  is  impossible  to  draw  tl  e 
line  of  demarkation  ;  therefore,  say  the  advocates  of  the  on< 
theory,  the  varieties  of  man   may  belong  to  one  species.      13ut  we 
know  that  this  same   gradation  is  seen  throughout  the  whole  animal 
and  vegetable  world. 

There  are  many  animals  intermediate  between  the  orders,  families 
and  genera  of  the  Vertebrata,  —  between  mammalia  and  birds, 
between  birds  and  reptiles,  between  reptiles  and  fishes,  both  living 
ami  fossil  —  which  require  all  the  acuteness  of  the  experienced  nat- 
uralist to  class  exactly.  Many  flowers,  known  in  their  typical  forms 
to  belopg  to  different  species,  can  hardly  be  distinguished  in  their 
varieties;  the  same  plant  has  borne  flowers  formerly  considered  char- 
acteristic of  three  distinct  genera. 

This  will  be  rendered  of  more  importance  if  it  appear  that  the 
races  are  permanent,  and  that  color  is  not  dependent  on  climate. 
Seven  hundred  and  thirty-three  years  after  Noah*s  debarkation  from 
the  ark,  (to  follow  the  generally  received  chronology,)  a  nation  of 
blacks  occupied  the  borders  of  Egypt;  now,  if  these  were  .Negroes, 
(as  they  doubtless  were,  for  we  have  their  features  on  the  monu- 
ments,) for  the  last  two  thousand  years  climate  has  not  produced 
such  a  race,  as,  according  to  this  idea,  must  have  been  produced  in  a 
third  of  that  time.  Seventeen  hundred  years  ago  a  colony  of  Jews 
migrated  to  the  coast  of  Malabar,  and  settled  among  black  races. 
Dr.  Buchanan,  in  his  travels,  states  that  they  are  as  perfect  Caucasians 
as  ever.*  If,  then,  seventeen  hundred  years  has  not  changed  these 
people,  in  that  hot  climate,  is  it  probable  that  seven  hundred  and 
thirty-three  years  have  changed  a  white  man  into  a  Negro?  A 
Portuguese  colony,  which  settled  on  the  coast  of  Congo,  has  now 
become  lost  by  amalgamation  with  the  black  races ;  but,  by  a  sup- 
pression of  a  part  of  the  facts,  the  impression  has  been  given  that 
they  were  changed  into  Negroes  by  the  effects  of  the  climate,  while 
the  true  cause  of  their  extinction  was  the  intermarriage  of  a  few 
whites  for  fifteen  generations  among  a  large  body  of  blacks.  Yet 
this,  and  such  as  this,  has  been  adduced  as  a  proof  that  climate 
changes  races.  The  Moors  have  inhabited  Northern  Africa  from 
time  immemorial,  and  yet  they  have  made  no  approach  to  the  Negro, 
any  more  than  the  Negro  has  to  them.     The  American  Indian,  under 

*  There  are  white  Jews  in  Malabar  ;  where  they  are  black,  an  intermix- 
ture with  dark  races  may  be  traced.  This  fact  is  carefully  kept  out  of 
sight  by  those  who  wish  to  use  the  "  Black  Jews  of  Malabar  "  on  the  other 
side  of  the  question.  [Dr.  Nott ;  Proceedings  of  Am.  Association  for 
Adv.  of  Science.     Charleston,  1850.     p.  98.] 


INTRODUCTION.  87 

every  variety  of  climate,  has  very  nearly  the  same  shade  of  com- 
plexion ;  no  other  races  have  been  produced  there  ;  there  are  no 
woolly  heads,  no  Negro  features.  It  is  now  about  two  hundred 
years  since  Africans  were  introduced  into  this  country,  and  the  eighth 
generation,  where  they  have  not  been  mind  with  the  whites,  are  as 
purely  African  as  their  imported  ancestors  ;  even  in  .Massachusetts, 
where  they  have  been  somewhat  improved  by  the  most  favorable  cir- 
cumstances, the  real  characteristics  of  the  race  are  unchanged.  The 
Jews  have  been  a  permanent  race,  from  Abraham  to  the  present  time, 
a  period  of  nearly  four  thousand  years,  according  to  Hebrew  chro- 
nology ;  and,  for  still  Btronger  reasons,  from  him  up  to  Noah,  only 
ten  generations.  The  Gypsies  are  a  permanent  race,  preserving  their 
East  Indian  characteristics  in  all  places,  and  for  all  historic  time. 

It  may,  then,  be  fairly  said,  that  unmixed  races,  from  the  most 
remote  historical  time,  (nearly  4,000  years,)  have  preserved  the.r  dis- 
tinguishing marks  amid  all  the  supposed  causes  of  change,  and  may 
be  considered  permanent.  The  Ethiopian  (Negro)  can  no  more 
change  his  skin  than  can  the  leopard  his  spots. 

As  examples  of  change  of  color  in  animals  from  external  circum- 
stances, and  as  proofs  that  similar  causes  may  have  produced  similar 
efTects  in  man,  I)r.  Prichard  mentions  the  black  swine  of  Piedmont, 
the  white  ones  of  Normandy,  and  the  red  ones  of  Bavaria;  and 
instances  also  of  horses  and  do<js,  in  Hungary  and  Corsica.  If 
physical  changes  so  change  the  lower  animals,  in  these  countries, 
why  do  net  they  change  man  1  Why  are  the  animals  so  different, 
and  men  so  much  alike?  Man  must  be  proof  against  these  physical 
causes  of  change  in  animals.  This  is  another  instance  of  the  abuse 
of  analogy. 

We  find,  then,  the  same  race  occupying  different  regions,  preserv- 
ing the  same  characters  in  all  ;  and  different  races  in  the  same  cli- 
mate, preserving  unchanged  their  national  distinctness;  and  no  instance 
can  be  produced  of  climate  having  changed,  or  now  changing,  one 
race  into  another. 

The  quantity  and  structure  of  the  human  hair  is  very  different  in 
the  different  races.  The  Mongolians  and  Northern  Asiatics  are 
remarkable  for  the  deficiency  of  hair  and  beard.  The  same  is  true, 
to  a  less  degree,  of  the  American  Indians.  Blumenbach  would  have 
us  believe  that  the  habit  of  pulling  out  the  hair,  continued  for  many 
generations,  has  at  length  produced  this  natural  variety.  Other  nations 
have  hair  growing  down  the  back,  and  covering  nearly  the  whole  body. 
This,  probably,  be  would  explain  by  the  long  continued  application 
of  some  rude  "  Philocomc,"  or  "  Tricophorus."  On  this  principle, 
we  should  hardly  expect  that  Chinese  mothers  would  bear  children 


88  INTRODUCTION. 

having  feet  of  the  usual  European  dimensions.     Very  remarkable 
heads  of  hair  are  frequently  produced  by  the  intermixture  of  diffi 

.  as  in  the  Cafuso8  of  Brazil,  —  half-breeds  betwei  n  ih<- 
and  Indians, —  and  in  the  Papuas.      The  i  d  that 

only  ilmse  kinds  of  human  hair  whirh  an-    straight    approximate 
to  the  cylindrical   form  ;    and  that   the   enrhd    or    crisp  varietii 
more  or  less  flattened,  the  crispation  being  in  proportion  to  the  com- 
pression.    Even  the  straightest  hair  is  not  exactly  round,  and  in 
some  cases  a  little  longitudinal  groove  may  be  set  n.     The  I 
the  Negro  has  a  deeper  groove,  and  its  tranevi  on  has  been 

compared  to  the  form  of  a  bean.  It  is  probable  that  the  tin 
the  Negro  hair  is  connected  with  a  greater  tension  of  the  fibres 
along  this  groove,  as  each  hair  is  an  assemblage  of  innumerable 
minute  parallel  fibres.  The  hair  of  the  Bushman  is  more  minutely 
curled  and  closely  malted  than  the  Negro  hair  ;  and  under  the  I 
scope  appears  quite  fiat  and  ribbon-like,  four  or  five  times  as  broad  as 
it  is  thick  ;  with  no  groove,  but  very  delicate  parallel  striae  or 
fibres. 

Mr.  P.  A.  Browne,  of  Philadelphia,  has  communicated  to  the 
American  Ethnological  Society  an  Essay  on  "  the  classification  of 
mankind  by  the  hair  and  wool  of  their  heads,"  in  which  he  replies 
to  Prichard's  assertion  that  the  covering  of  the  head  of  the  Negro  is 
hair  and  not  wool.  He  states  that  there  are,  on  microscopic  examina- 
tion, three  prevailing  forms  of  the  transverse  section  of  the  filament, 
viz.,  the  cylindrical,  the  oval,  and  the  eccentrically  elliptical.  There 
are  also  three  directions  in  which  it  pierces  the  epidermis.  The 
straight  and  lank,  the  flowing  or  curled,  and  the  crisped  or  frizzled, 
differ  respectively  as  to  the  angle  which  the  filament  makes  with  the 
skin  on  leaving  it.  The  cylindrical  and  oval  pile  has  an  oblique 
angle  of  inclination.  The  eccentrically  elliptical  pierces  the  epider- 
mis at  right  angles,  and  lies  perpendicularly  in  the  dermis.  The 
hair  of  the  white  man  is  oval ;  that  of  the  Choctaw  and  some  other 
American  Indians  is  cylindrical  ;  that  of  the  Negro  is  eccentrically 
elliptical  or  flat.  The  hair  of  the  white  man  has,  beside  its  cortex 
and  intermediate  fibres,  a  central  canal  which  contains  the  coloring 
matter  when  present.  The  wool  of  the  Negro  has  no  central  canal, 
and  the  coloring  matter  is  diffused,  when  present,  either  throughout 
the  cortex  or  the  intermediate  fibres. 

Hair,  according  to  these  observations,  is  more  complex  in  its 
structure  than  wool.  In  hair  the  enveloping  scales  are  comparatively 
few,  with  smooth  surfaces,  rounded  at  their  points,  and  closely 
embracing  the  shaft.  In  wool  they  are  numerous,  rough,  sharp- 
pointed,  and  project  from  the  shaft.      Hence  the  hair  of  the  white 


INTRODUCTION.  89 

man  will  not  felt.  The  hair  of  the  Negro  will,  and  in  this  respect 
comes  near  to  true  wool. 

Prichard  says,  supposing  the  Negro  hair  to  be  analogous  to  wool, 
it  would  not  prove  the  Negro  of  a  separate  race  from  the  European. 
"  Since  we  know  that  some  tribes  of  animals  bear  wool,  while  oihers 
of  the  same  species  are  covered  with  hair."  Though  this  peculiar- 
ity depends  on  climate,  it  proves  nothing,  for  this  reason,  viz.,  in 
almost  every  quadruped  there  is  a  growth  of  both  hair  and  wool,  the 
latter  generally  covered  and  protected  by  the  former.  Now,  cli- 
mate only  changes  the  relative  proportion  between  these  two  append- 
ages to  the  skin.  In  a  warm  climate  the  hair  would  predominate  ; 
in  a  cold  country  the  wool  would  be  the  most  increased.  This  may 
explain  Prichard's  remark.  Until  a  similar  coexistence  of  hair  and 
wool  can  be  shown  in  the  human  subject,  there  is  not  the  slightest 
ground  for  analogical  argument. 

From  .he  examination  of  the  human  hair,  it  may  be  said  that  the 
degree  of  relationship  of  the  races  is  no  nearer  than  that  of  allied 
species  among  lower  animals,  even  allowing  much  that  false  analogy 
claims.  The  hair  of  man  belongs  to  the  same  epidermic  tissues  as 
the  fur  of  quadrupeds,  the  feathers  of  birds,  and  the  scales  of  fishes. 
The  species  of  birds  are  in  a  great  measure  distinguished  by  lite 
form,  structure,  and  arrangement  of  thefeatfu  rs.  The  scales  of  fishes 
have  such  an  intimate  and  unvarying  relation  to  their  other  organs  and 
systems,  thai  Prof.  Agassiz  has  been  able  to  delineate  accurately  the 
form  and  structure  of  an  extinct  species  from  the  examination  of  a 
single  scale;  and  the  classification  of  these  animals  is  chiefly  made 
according  to  the  structure  of  the  scales.  If  such  differences  in  animals 
constitute  specific  and  even  generic  distinctions,  why  not,  by  analogy, 
in  man  ! 

The  osteology  of  the  different  races  of  men  has  been  as  yet  very 
little  studied,  and  oilers  a  wide  field  for  observations.  The  charac- 
teristic shape  of  the  skull  in  different  races  has  been  already  given, 
and  need  not  he  repeated.  The  distinctions  are  remarkable  and 
permanent,  and  cannot  be  invalidated  by  the  "scale  of  gradation," 
so  often  quoted,  as  this  would  apply  with  equal  force  to  all  animated 
nature.  A  prevailing  form,  a  type,  exists,  and  that  is  enpugh.  A 
modification  of  the  osseous  system  involves  a  modification  of  function, 
which  may  influence  the  whole  system,  and  become  of  specific  value. 
The  chin,  e.  g.,  says  Van  Amringe,  is  apparently  an  unimportant 
part;  and  yet  a  receding  chin  is  almost  always  attended  by  a  poorly 
developed  cranium  and  inferior  intellectual  powers;  not  that  there 
can  be  traced  the  relation  of  cause  and  effect,  but  that,  all  organs 
being  a  part  of  a  great  whole,  a  deficiency  of  one  is  almost  without 
8* 


90  INTRODUCTION. 

exception  followed  by  the  same  consequences  in  the  whole  class  of 
animal*  The  prominence  of  the  chin  (or  its  receding)  is  charac- 
teristic of  races  of  men  and  animals,  and  is  proportioned  to  the  rank 
they  hold  in  t  lie  scale  of  being.  Again,  the  posterior  portion  of  the 
os  calcis  is  longer  in  the  Negro  than  in  the  European.  This  enables 
the  muscles  of  the  calf  of  the  leg  to  act  with  belter  advantage  on  the 
foot,  the  lever  being  better  fiom  the  length  of  the  heel.  Less  mus- 
cular force  is  required  for  the  movements  of  the  foot  on  the  leg,  in 
walking,  &c,  and  hence  the  constant  comparative  flatness  of  the 
Negro  calf,  the  size  of  a  muscle  being  proportioned  to  its  exercise. 
In  an  animal  this  would  be  considered  of  specific  value.  According 
to  Dr.  Knox,*  in  the  colored  races  the  nerves  of  the  limbs  are  one 
third  less  than  in  the  Saxon  of  the  same  height.  lie  quotes  Tiede- 
rnann  as  having  informed  him  "  that  he  had  every  reason  to  believe 
that  the  native  Australian  race  differed  in  an  extraordinary  manner 
from  the  European  ;  that  this  is  the  case  with  the  Hottentot  and 
Bosjeman  race  has  been  long  known."  He  says,  the  whole  shape 
of  the  skeleton  in  the  dark  races  differs  from  ours,  as  also  "  the 
forms  of  almost  every  muscle  in  the  body."  We  have  already  seen 
the  great  differences  in  the  shape  of  the  pelvis  in  the  different  races, 
to  which  Drs.  Vrolik  and  Weber  paid  great  attention,  in  the  belief 
that  its  shape  must  have  some  influence  on  the  conformation  of  the 
foetal  head.  They  discovered  four  principal  forms,  corresponding  to 
the  cranial  formation  of  the  principal  races.  The  oval  form  of  the 
European,  the  round  form  of  the  American,  the  square  form  of  the 
Mongolian,  and  the  oblong  form  of  the  African  races.  The  last 
showing  unmistakable  signs  of  degradation,  and  an  approach  to  the 
pelvis  of  the  Si/nitf. 

It  is  highly  probable  that  future  investigations  will  detect  other 
differences  in  the  comparative  osteology  of  the  races,  which  will 
present  strong  claims  to  be  regarded  as  specific  distinctions 

The  diversity  of  the  human  races  is  by  some  attributed  to  acciden- 
tal varieties,  from  whom  individuals,  tribes,  and  nations  have 
sprung.  If  mankind  were  originally  white,  the  negroes  must  have 
arisen  from  such  an  accidental  variety.  This,  according  to  Dr. 
Morton,  is  Prichard's  latest  view.  It  is  a  mere  supposition  ;  for 
nobody  ever  saw  or  knew  a  Negro  born  as  an  accidental  variety 
among  Caucasian,  Mongolian,  or  other  races,  where  a  very  natural 
explanation  could  not  be  found  for  the  mystery.  Prichard,  at  one 
time,  believed  Adam  was  a  Negro,  1st,  from  the  changes  of  animals 
being   from    dark  to   light.     2d,   from  Albinoes  occurring   among 

*  The  Races  of  Hen  ;  a  Fragment.     By  Robert  Knox,  M.  D.     London, 
1850. 


INTRODUCTION.  91 

blacks,  but  never  blacks  among  whites.  3d,  from  the  dark  races 
being  better  fitted  fur  savage  life  than  the  whites.  4th,  from  the 
lowest  actual  races  being  akin  to  Negroes.  In  his  "  Physical  His- 
tory of  Man,"  he  says,  "  The  Melanic  variety  may  be  looked  upon 
as  the  natural  and  original  complexion  of  the  human  species." 

It  is  a  general  law  of  nature  that  deviations  from  the  natural  type, 
accidental  or  the  product  of  disease,  have  a  constant  tendency  to 
return  to  the  original  type.  For  Prichard's  reasons,  above  given, 
the  white  races  are  not  the  progenitors  of  the  black  races  ;  and  if 
the  first  races  were  black,  we  ought  occasionally  to  find  children  of 
white  parents  born  black,  by  reason  of  the  natural  tendency  to  return 
to  the  original  type.  The  difficulty  is  the  same  in  both  theories. 
Again,  all  unnatural,  accidental,  or  monstrous  births,  are  either  abso- 
lutely incapable  of  procreation,  or  they  quickly  die  out,  unless 
renewed  by  intermixture  of  the  original  stocks.  This  will  be  more 
fully  treated  when  speaking  of  hybridity.  It  is  equally  vain  to 
pretend  that  varieties  were  thus  produced  in  early  ages,  before  a 
crowded  population  existed  to  swallow  them  up,  as  would  now  be  the 
case.  No  race  of  "  hairy  men"  arose  from  Esau.  To  suppose 
that  the  sons  of  Noah  had  children,  of  exactly  the  colors  required 
by  this  theory,  who  married  women  of  a  color  exactly  corresponding, 
is  too  great  a  demand  on  our  credulity.  To  say,  with  Van  Amringe, 
chat  the  sons  of  Noah  were  changed  by  a  miraculous  interposition, 
so  as  to  produce  the  varieties  of  man,  is  not  allowable  ;  for  no  one 
has  a  right  to  suppose  a  miracle. 

Professor  Agassiz  instituted  a  series  of  experiments  in  1850, 
which  have  a  bearing  on  this  point.  He  took  a  great  number  of 
rabbits,  of  every  variety  of  color,  and  bred  them  together  with  great 
care  ;  the  offspring  were  never  intermediate  in  color  between  the 
parents,  but  were  either  exactly  like  one  parent  or  the  other,  or 
showed  a  tendency  to  the  gray  color  of  the  original  wild  stock.  But 
take  different  species,  as  the  horse  and  the  ass,  and  the  offspring 
resembles  neither  parent,  but  is  a  mule,  intermediate  between  the 
two.  So,  put  black  and  white  together,  the  child  is  neither  black 
nor  tchiie,  but  a  mulatto.  The  rare  instances  where  children  from 
such  a  union  have  been  either  perfectly  black,  or  perfectly  white,  must 
be  regarded  as  exceptions.  So  far  as  analogy  can  be  trusted,  the 
result  of  these  observations  shows  that  the  human  races  are  distinct 
species. 

In  hybrids,  animal  and  human,  there  is  a  tendency  to  return 
to  the  original  stocks.  There  is  reason  to  believe  that  hybrid- 
ity is,  in  man  at  least,  a  state  of  degeneration,  and  that  the 
mongrel  race  must  either  keep  itself  up  by  continual   mixture  with 


92  INTRODUCTION. 

the  original  slacks,  or   it  will   become  extinct  by  reverting  to  the 
original   types,  or  by  ceasing  to  be   prolific.      Nobody  doubts  that 
mixed  offspring  may  be  produced  by  intermarriage  of  different  i 
The  Griquas,  the  Papuas,   the  Cafusos,  and   the  mulattoea  of  the 
Americas,   bo   elaborately  described   and  enumerated  by  Prichard, 
only  show  the  existence  of  such  races;   and  that  the  same  c 
which  first  produced  them  may  continue  to  produce  them.      The 
point  is,  whether  they  would  be  perpetuated   if  Btrictly  confined  to 
intermarriages  among  themselves.     It  Ins  been  said,  as  the  result 
of  observation,  that,  when  tin-  descendants  of  muluttocs   intermarry 
for   a   few   generations,  (without   mixture  of  the  primitive  r 
the  offspring  either  ceases  to  be  prolific,  or   reverts   towards    tip- 
original   stocks.      The   same   is  true,  as  far  as   has  been   observed, 
of  the  mixture  of  the  white  and  red  races. 

In  the  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Sciences  of  Philadelphia, 
for  April  22,  1851,  is  a  communication  from  Dr.  S.  G.  Morton,  on 
the  infrequency  of  mixed  offspring  between  the  European  and  Aus- 
tralian races.  This  well-known  fact  led  the  colonial  government  to 
official  inquiries;  and  to  the  result  that  in  thirty-one  districts,  whose 
inhabitants  were  15,000  in  number,  the  half-breeds  did  not  es 
200.  Infanticide,  disease,  promiscuous  intercourse,  and  the  natural 
repugnance  of  races,  would  not  explain  the  fact  in  Australia,  when 
similar  causes  elsewhere  are  not  followed  by  similar  effects.  "  Is 
not,"  he  asks,  "  the  real  cause  of  the  difference  of  race  the  disparity 
of  primordial  organization  ?" 

The  strongest  argument  in  favor  of  this  is  that  no  new  variety 
of  men  has  ever  been  thus  formed  and  perpetuated  by  the  mixture  of 
races,  though  there  has  been  no  greater  obstacle  to  the  permanence 
of  such  races  than  of  the  existing  pure  races  ;  we  have  a  right  to 
believe  such  a  permanent  race  impossible  till  the  contrary  is  proved. 
This  conclusion  is  strengthened  by  the  well-known  consequences  of 
intermarriage  of  near  relations  in  civilized  communities  ;  every  one 
conversant  with  the  subject  knows  that  scrofula,  imbecility,  and  idiocy 
are  to  be  traced  to  this  intermixture  as  effects  to  their  cause.  His- 
tory abundantly  shows  that  artificial  breeds,  mixed  races  of  men  (and 
animals)  are  never  permanent  and  self-supporting  ;  they  require  sup- 
plies from  the  pure  breeds,  or  they  become  extinct.  Look  at  the 
Spanish  conquerors  of  Mexico  and  Peru  ;  the  "  Mulatto  "  (which 
means  a  mixed  race)  arose  from  the  mingling  of  European  and 
Indian  blood.  The  supply  from  Spain  has  ceased  ;  the  native 
Indian  continues,  and  upon  him  the  Mulatto  is  forced ;  thus  the  pop- 
ulation gradually  returns  to  the  aboriginal  Indian  type  as  in  the  days 
of  Montezuma  ?nd  the  Incas.      The  same  is  true  of  the  mixture  of 


INTRODUCTION".  93 

the  Portuguese  and  Indian  in  Brazil  and  other  parts  of  South 
America  ;  as  the  foreign  supply  diminishes,  the  native  blood  pre- 
dominates, and  the  mixed  race  decays.  In  St.  Domingo,  the  black 
race  predominates,  and  under  the  present  regime  there  is  no  proba- 
bility of  any  great  supply  of  white  blood  to  perpetuate  the  existing 
Mulattoes  ;  the  mix  'd  race  is  gradually  giving  way,  and  must 
become  extinct,  becor»in;j  merged  in  the  black  stock. 

The  phenomena  of  hybridity,  therefore,  so  far  as  they  bear  upon 
the  question,  rather  go  to  prove  that  there  are  distinct  species. 

Mr.  Gallatin  (Trans,  of  Amer.  Ethnological  Soc.,  Vol.  i..  p.  102) 
gives  some  facts  which  show  that  the  agriculture  of  the  American 
mound  builders  was  of  domestic  origin  ;  their  principal  vegetable 
product  was  peculiar  to  America.  He  says,  "  We  have  here  two 
leading  facts,  one  positively  ascertained,  and  the  other  generally 
admitted  by  those  who  have  inquired  into  tin;  subject,  the  importance 
of  which  has  not,  it  seems  to  me,  been  adverted  to.  The  first  is  that 
all  the  nutritious  plants  cultivated  in  the  other  hemisphere,  and 
which  are  usually  distinguished  by  the  name  of  cereals,  (millet, 
rice,  wheat,  rye,  barley,  oats,)  were  entirely  unknown  to  the  Ameri- 
cans. The  second  is  that  maize,  which  was  the  great  and  almost 
sole  foundation  of  American  agriculture,  is  exclusively  of  American 
origin,  and  was  not  known  in  the  other  hemisphere  till  after  the  dis- 
covery of  America  in  the  fifteenth  century." 

If  animals  have  had  several  distinct  centres  of  creation,  why  has 
not  man?  There  are  climates  peculiarly  suited  to  the  varieties  of 
man,  as  well  as  of  animals.  Tropical  Africa  is  not  adapted  to  the 
Caucasian  constitution  ;  every  colony  has  been  wasted  by  sickness 
and  death  ;  every  expedition  into  the  interior  has  been  attended  with 
a  frightful  mortality  ;  even  at  a  long  distance  from  the  unhealthy 
coast  our  national  vessels  have  suffered  severely  from  the  pestilen- 
tial fevers  of  Africa.  Yet  this  is  the  native  and  the  natural  climate 
of  the  Negro,  where  he  is  as  much  at  home  as  is  the  polar  bear  on 
the  shores  of  Greenland,  or  the  chimpanzee  on  the  banks  of  the 
Gaboon.  Look  at  the  French  colony  even  in  extra-tropical  Algeria; 
according  to  the  reports  of  Marshal  Bugeaud,  and  M.  Baud  in,  the 
mortality  among  the  troops  is  frightful  ;  the  European  population 
annually  decreases  by  seventeen  per  thousand,  and,  but  for  the  influx 
of  emigrants,  would  become  extinct  in  fifty  years.  The  dominant 
foreign  population  of  Egypt  does  not  increase  in  numbers ;  the 
aboriginal  Copt  still  exists,  biding  his  time.  Look  at  the  English 
in  Hindostau  and  Australia.  The  former  is  held  as  a  military  pos- 
session ;  but  the  European  cannot  York  there,  —  he  must  employ  the 
natives  ;   but  for  fresh  arrivals  the  vhite  man  would  soon  be  extinct 


94  INTRODUCTION. 

as  it  is,  he  comes  home  to  die  prematurely,  with  gold  in  his  pockets, 
and  disease  in  his  liver.  Tn  Australia,  the  Englishman  with  diffi- 
culty rears  his  children  ;  he  is  in  an  unnatural  climate,  and  must 
accordingly  decay  ;  he  cannot  be  naturalized  there.  Finally,  let  us 
glance  at  America.  Says  Dr.  Knox  (op.  cit.),  "Travel  to  the 
Antilles,  and  see  the  European  struggling  with  existence,  a  prey  to 
fever  and  dysentery,  unequal  to  all  labor,  wasted  and  wan,  finally 
perishing,  and  becoming  rapidly  extinct  as  a  race,  but  for  the  con- 
stant influx  of  fresh  European  blood."  In  Havti,  Cuba,  Jamaica, 
and  the  other  islands,  a  black  population  is  necessary  to  labor.  The 
sickly  European  must  yield  the  tropics  to  the  black  race  ;  lie  cannot 
fight  against  the  climate.  So  will  it  be  in  our  Southern  States  and 
Brazil  ;  white  men  cannot  labor  there  ;  the  black  man  must  be  there, 
either  as  free  or  slave,  so  long  as  the  Anglo-American  or  European 
resides  there.  Cut  off  fresh  arrivals  of  whites  from  the  north  or 
from  Europe,  and,  as  in  Hayti,  the  negro  race  will  soon  predomi- 
nate, and,  "with  the  deepening  color,  will  vanish  civilization,  the 
arts  of  peace,  science,  literature."  Look  even  at  the  Northern 
States.  Contrast  the  lean,  lank,  lackadaisical  Yankee  with  the 
ruddy,  round,  and  robust  Englishman,  his  ancestor.  Says  Dr. 
Knox,  with  truth,  "  The  ladies  early  lose  their  teeth  ;  in  both  sexes 
the  adipose  cellular  cushion  interposed  between  the  skin  and  the 
aponeuroses  and  muscles  disappears,  or,  at  least,  loses  its  adipose 
portion  ;  the  muscles  become  stringy  and  show  themselves ;  the  ten- 
dons appear  on  the  surface  ;  symptoms  of  premature  decay  manifest 
themselves."  These  are  warnings  that  the  climate  has  not  been 
made  for  him,  nor  he  for  the  climate. 

It  may  now  be  asked  if  the  species  of  man  were  created  equal. 
We  speak  not  of  individuals,  but  of  races.  Many  Caucasians  may 
be  inferior  to  many  Negroes,  or  Mongolians,  or  Malays,  and  many 
individuals  of  talent  may  be  found  among  the  dark  races  ;  but  they 
are  acknowledged  exceptions.  The  question  is  not  whether  a  race 
may  be  improved,  for  that  nobody  doubts  ;  else  were  they  not 
human  ;  but  whether  all  have  the  same  capability  of  being  improved  ; 
and  what  the  races  are  naturally,  and  what  is  the  standard  of  the 
species. 

History  need  not  be  very  deeply  consulted  to  convince  one  that 
the  white  races,  without  an  exception,  have  attained  a  considerable 
degree  of  civilization  and  refinement  ;  and  that  the  dark  races  have 
always  stoppe  .  short  at  a  considerably  lower  level.  There  must 
have  been  a  time  when  the  Caucasian  was  as  ignorant  and  uncivil- 
ized as  the  American  or  the  African  ;  all  were  once  simple  chil- 
dren of  Nature,  or  while  the  former  have  advanced,  the  latter  have 


INTRODUCTION.  95 

degenerated  from  the  original  type  of  the.r  species.  Why  have 
accidental  circumstances  always  preventec  the  latter  fum  rising, 
while  they  have  only  stimulated  the  former  to  higher  attainment? 
The  whole  mass  of  facts  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  dark  races 
are  inferiorly  organized,  and  cannot,  to  the  same  extent  as  the  white 
races,  understand  the  laws  of  Nature,  and  therefrom  obtain  an  ever- 
increasing  light  and  knowledge  ;  that  they  bear  the  stamp  of  their 
inferiority  in  their  physical  organization. 

The  North  American  Indian  bears  a  stamp  of  inferiority  in  his 
physical  and  mental  constitution  ;  his  nature  shows  a  preponderance 
of  the  "  vegetative  element,"  as  Guyot  calls  it;  his  temperament  is 
lymphatic,  cold,  unsocial,  insensible;  he  is  the  man  of  the  forest, 
sombre  and  sad.  The  results  of  the  mixture  of  the  White  and  Red 
races  for  two  hundred  years  are  well  known.  The  Indian  civiliza- 
tion has  not  advanced  permanently,  or  of  itself;  they  will  not  give 
up  their  wild  life  for  the  restraints  of  civilization ;  they  cannot, 
from  their  organization,  be  civilized.  Like  the  wild  animals  of  the 
forest,  they  retreat  before  ihe  whites,  contact  with  whom  has  nearly 
annihilated  them  as  a  race.  Similar  reflections  arise  in  contem- 
plating the  Negro  races.  Amalgamation  of  races  will  not  mend  the 
matter.  The  inferior  race  will  gain,  for  a  time,  what  the  superior 
loses  ;  but  return  to  one  of  the  original  types,  or  degeneration  and 
final  extinction,  must  sooner  or  later  be  the  result. 

Physical  geography  teaches  us  that,  of  the  two  great  elements 
of  the  earth,  the  water  element  and  the  land  element,  the  latter  is 
by  far  superior  to  the  former  in  the  animal  and  vegetable  life  to 
which  it  gives  origin  ;  geology  and  palaeontology  show  us  that  this 
was  true  also  in  ancient  ages.  The  oceanic  climate  corresponds  to 
a  Flora  and  a  Fauna  numerous  in  individuals,  but  scanty  in  species; 
all  the  large  animals  are  wanting  ;  the  types  are  inferior.  In  the 
continental  climate  there  is  greater  variety,  more  numerous  species, 
and  higher  types  of  life.  But  the  highest  of  all  life  belongs  to  what 
Guyot*  calls  the  maritime  climate,  the  combination  of  the  conti- 
nental and  the  oceanic.  To  use  h:s  words,  "  Here  are  allied  the 
continental  vigor,  and  the  oceanic  softness,  in  a  fortunate  union, 
mutually  tempering  each  other.  lere  the  development  is  more 
intense,  life  more  rich,  more  varied  n  all  its  forms."  In  like  man- 
ner, we  find  the  highest  human  types  neither  among  the  indolent 
man  of  the  Pacific,  nor  among  the  energetic  Negro  of  continental 
Africa,  but  in  maritime  man  wherever  found  ;  whether  it  be  in 
peninsular  Europe,   Asia,   or   North  America,   "  enthroned,  queen- 

*  Earth  and  Man:  by  Arnold  Guyot.     Boston,  1850. 


96  INTRODUCTION. 

like,  upon  the  two  great  oceans,"  "  the  mediator  between  the  two 
extremities  of  the  world."  Physical  geography  also  teaches,  what 
history  confirms,  that  the  three  great  northern  continents  are  pecu- 
liarly organized  for  the  full  development  of  man  ;  they  may  be 
styled  the  historic  continents,  eacli  having  a  special  function  in  his 
education,  and  corresponding  to  the  periods  of  his  progress.  Of 
the  white  race,  the  most  perfect  type  of  humanity,  Western 
may  be  called  the  cradle,  both  physically  and  morally;  the  dwelling- 
place  of  the  chosen  people,  from  whom  Christianity  was  to  spread 
over  the  earth.  Europe  "  is  the  school  where  his  youth  was  trained, 
where  he  waxed  in  strength  and  knowledge,  and  grew  to  a  wion." 
"America  is  the  theatre  of  his  activity  during  manhood ;  the  land 
where  he  applies  and  practises  all  he  has  learned,  and  brings  into 
action  all  the  forces  he  has  acquired." 

The  precise  period  of  man's  appearance  on  the  earth  is  not 
known,  as  authors  very  variously  interpret  the  Jewish  and  other 
chronologies.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the  generally  received 
opinion  on  the  subject  falls  short  of  the  truth,  and  that  man  has 
lived  upon  the  earth  for  a  longer  period  than  6000  years. 


Since  the  above  was  written,  there  has  been  published  a  valuable 
work,  by  Mr.  Schoolcraft,*  from  which  we  quote  a  few  paragraphs. 

The  languages  of  the  Indians  "  have  been  pronounced,  on  very 
slender  materials,  to  contain  high  refinements  in  forms  of  expres- 
sion ;  an  opinion  which  there  is  reason  to  believe  requires  great 
modifications,  however  terse  and  beautiful  the  languages  are  in  their 
power  of  combination.  The  aboriginal  archaeology  has  fallen  under 
a  somewhat  similar  spirit  of  misapprehension  and  predisposition  to 
exaggeration.  The  antiquities  of  the  United  States  are  the  antiqui- 
ties of  barbarism,  and  not  of  ancient  civilization.  Mere  age  they 
undoubtedly  have  ;  but  when  we  look  about  our  magnificent  forests 
and  fertile  valleys  for  ancient  relics  of  the  traces  of  the  plough,  the 
compass,  the  pen,  and  the  chisel,  it  must  require  a  heated  imagina- 
tion to  perceive  much,  if  anything  at  all,  beyond  the  hunter  state  of 
arts,  as   it  existed   at  the   respective  eras  of  the   Scandinavian  and 

*  Historical  and  Statistical  Information,  respecting  tbe  History,  Con- 
dition, and  Prospects  of  the  Indian  Tribes  of  the  United  States.  By 
Henry  R.  Schoolcraft,  LL.  D.  Philadelphia:  1351. 


INTRODUCTION.  97 

Columbian  discoveries."  He  also  says,  that  the  antiquities  of  the 
Mississippi  valley  do  not  denote  a  high  state  of  civilization  in  the 
aboriginal  race,  before  the  arrival  of  Europeans  ;  the  ruins  of  Palen- 
que,  Cuzco,  Yucatan,  and  the  Valley  of  Mexico,  are,  manifestly, 
monuments  of  intrusive  nations. 

The  Scandinavians  had  visited  the  northern  part  of  this  continent, 
from  Greenland,  as  early  as  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century  ;  and 
even  in  the  ninth  we  are  told  that  Othere  proceeded  on  a  voyage  to 
the  North  Pole. 

The  Indian  race  is  of  a  very  old  stock,  apparently  more  ancient 
than  the  cuneiform  and  Nilotic  inscriptions,  the  oldest  in  the  world. 
"  Nothing  that  we  have,  in  the  shape  of  books,  is  ancient  enough  to 
recall  the  period  of  his  origin  but  the  sacred  oracles.  If  we  appeal 
to  these,  a  probable  prototype  may  be  recognized  in  that  branch  of 
the  race  which  may  be  called  Almogic  (from  Almodad,  the  son  of 
Joktan),  a  branch  of  the  Eber-ites.  *  #  *  *  Like  them,  they  are 
depicted,  at  all  periods  of  their  history,  as  strongly  self-willed, 
exclusive  in  their  type  of  individuality,  heedless,  heady,  impractica- 
ble, impatient  of  reproof  or  instruction,  and  strongly  bent  on  the 
various  forms  of  ancient  idolatry.  Such  are,  indeed,  the  traits  of 
the  American  tribes."  They  believe  in  a  spirit  of  good  and  a  spirit 
of  evil.  This  duality  of  gods  is  universal.  They  relate,  generally, 
that  there  was  an  ancient  deluge,  which  covered  the  earth,  and 
destroyed  mankind,  except  a  limited  number ;  they  speak  emphati- 
cally of  a  future  state,  and  appear  to  have  an  idea  of  rewards  and 
punishments  hereafter. 

The  whole  Indian  population  of  the  United  States  he  estimates 
at  388,229,  with,  perhaps,  25  or  35,000  more  in  the  unexplored 
territories. 

Mr.  Squier  *  remarks  that  the  ancient  population  of  the  Missis- 
sippi valley  was  numerous  and  widely  spread,  as  evinced  by  the 
number  and  magnitude  of  the  ancient  monuments,  and  the  extensive 
range  of  their  occurrence.  "That  it  was  essentially  homogeneous, 
in  customs,  habits,  religion,  and  government,  seems  very  well  sus- 
tained by  the  great  uniformity  which  the  ancient  remains  display, 
not  only  as  regards  position  and  form,  but  in  respect,  also,  to  those 
minor  particulars,  which,  not  less  than  more  obvious  and  imposing 
features,  assist  us  in  arriving  at  correct  conclusions."  *  *  *  * 
"  The  features  common  to  all  are  elementary,  and  identify  them  as 
appertaining  to  a  single  grand  system,  owing  its  origin  to  a  family 

*  Ancient  Monuments  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  By  E.  G.  Squiei, 
A.  M.,  and  E.  H.  Davis,  M.  D.  Washington:  1S43. 

9 


98  INTRODUCTION. 

of  men,  moving  in  the  same  general  direction,  acting  undti  common 
impulses,  and  influenced  by  similar  causes. 

He  thinks  the  present  condition  of  our  knowledge  on  this  subject 
indicates  a  connection  between  the  builders  of  the  mounds  and  the 
half-civilized  nations  of  Mexico,  Central  America,  and  Peru,  whose 
vast  and  imposing  structures  invest  this  part  of  the  continent  "  with 
an  interest  not  less  absorbing  than  that  which  attaches  to  the  valley 
of  the  Nile."  The  mound  builders,  like  the  last-mentioned  nations, 
were,  to  a  considerable  extent,  stationary  and  agricultural  in  their 
habits,  —  "conditions  indispensable  to  large  population, to  fixedness 
of  institutions,  and  lo  any  considerable  advance  in  the  economical  or 
ennobling  aits." 

While  it  is  impossible  to  fix  accurately  the  date  of  the  ancient 
monuments,  many  facts  enable  us  to  judge  approximately.  None  of 
these  monuments  occur  upon  the  latest-formed  terraces  of  the  river 
valleys  of  Ohio.  We  are  warranted  in  believing  that  these  terraces 
mark  the  degrees  of  subsidence  of  the  rivers,  and  one  of  the  four 
which  can  now  be  traced  must  have  been  formed  since  these  rivers 
have  followed  their  present  courses.  "  There  is  no  good  reason  for 
supposing  that  the  mound  builders  would  have  avoided  building  upon 
that  terrace,  while  they  erected  their  works  promiscuously  upon  all 
the  others."  lie  adds,  "  The  time  since  the  streams  have  flowed  in 
their  present  courses  may  be  divided  into  four  periods,  of  different 
lengths,  of  which  the  latest,  supposed  to  have  elapsed  since  the  race 
of  the  mounds  flourished,  is  much  the  longest." 

The  primitive  forests  which  cover  these  mounds  are  in  no  way 
distinguishable  from  those  which  surround  them.  Some  of  the 
trees  of  these  forests  have  a  positive  antiquity  of  6  or  800  years. 
The  process  by  which  nature  restores  the  forest  to  its  original  state, 
after  being  once  cleared,  is  extremely  slow.  Without  attempting 
to  assign  a  definite  period  for  such  an  assimilation,  he  says,  "  it 
must,  unquestionably,  however,  be  measured  by  centuries." 

S.  K. 

Boston,  1851. 


NATURAL  HISTORY 


OF 


THE  HUMAN  SPECIES 


To  investigate  the  History  of  Man,  upon  zoological  princi- 
ples, and  to  apply  them  to  the  phases  of  his  earliest  available 
historical  aspects,  requires  extensive  researches,  in  a  multitude 
of  directions,  —  physiological,  linguistic,  religious,  traditional, 
geographical,  and  migratorial,  —  for  it  is  by  their  mutual  com- 
parison that  light  is  thrown  on  many  points,  which,  without 
these  means,  would  remain  entirely  unknown.  While  the 
first  takes  cognizance  of  every  question  relating  to  man's 
organization,  and  the  position  he  holds  in  the  scale  of  being, 
according  to  the  laws  which  should  guide  all  systematic 
researches  in  animated  nature,  the  second,  being  a  faculty 
appertaining  solely  to  mankind,  inquires  into  the  grammatical 
structure  and  the  sounds  of  oral  communication,  and  traces 
out  the  families  of  languages,  by  means  of  which  the  more 
remote  origin,  connection,  and  filiation  of  different  tribes  is 
made  apparent ;  and  it  establishes,  in  proportion  as  the  simi- 
larity of  tongues  or  dialects  is  more  complete,  the  degree  of 
affinity  they  should  bear,  without  entirely  dismissing  from  the 
question  the  fact,  that  nations  at  times  adopt  a  new  language, 
to  the  total  extinction  of  the  tongue  spoken  by  their  ancestors. 
It  is  in  cases  of  this  kind  that  the  records  of  national  super- 
stitions, legends,  manners,  and  even  proverbs,  become,  in  their 
turn,  elements  of  interest,  to  guide  and  correct  the  research. 
Finally,  when  to  these  are  added  the  ancient  migrations  which 


100  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

the  different  families  of  man  have  passed  through,  under  the 
various  conditions  imposed  upon  them  by  geographical  neces- 
sities, conclusions,  more  or  less  satisfactory,  may  be  drawn, 
even  where,  as  yet,  little  or  no  positi\  historical  information 
is  available,  to  substantiate  them  by  direct  reference  to  written 
authority. 

When,  however,  we  endeavor  to  ascend  up  to  the  prii 
period  of  man's  creation,  and  the  distribution  of  his  species  on 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  resources  already  pointed  out  will 
be  found  insufficient  without  the  aid  of  geologv.  particularly 
whin  on  the  subject  of  the  tertiary  and  alluvial  strata,  which 
contain  organic  remains  of  vertebrata;  and,  most  of  all,  when 
these  are  found  to  be  of  mammalia,  whose  orders  and  genera, 
—  nay,  species,  —  are  still  existing  in  the  same  localities,  or 
in  a  more  remote  climate ;  because  it  is  in  the  same  deposits 
of  bones  that  the  remains  of  man  occur,  though  rarely;  and 
their  character  and  race  is  the  subject  of  dispute. 

From  the  point  of  view  wherein  we  propose  to  examine  the 
natural  history  of  mankind,  it  will,  perhaps,  be  found,  like 
geology,  not  wholly  free  from  arguments  that,  to  some,  may 
appear  hazarded.  In  this  class  of  researches,  notwithstanding 
the  positive  nature  of  a  multiplicity  of  facts  before  us,  while  we 
endeavor  to  abide  by  what  we  deem  to  be  the  truth,  it  is  not 
intended  to  push  the  inferences  further  than  hypothetical 
results,  by  means  of  which  the  phenomena  of  nature  are  best 
explained,  and  deserve  to  become  facts  in  science  so  far  only 
as  they  are  warranted  by  the  completeness  of  demonstration. 
But  as  many  points  of  research  are,  in  their  nature,  not  within 
the  reach  of  every  test,  much  must  remain  partially  speculative, 
or  possessed  of  that  sole  degree  of  probability  which  a  compe- 
tent judge  may  be  disposed  to  award,  upon  dispassionate  reflec- 
tion, and  the  existing  state  of  our  knowledge. 

Man,  being  possessed  of  the  highest  privileges  and  endow- 
ments in  the  whole  domain  of  zoology,  becomes  the  ultimate 
standard  of  comparison  to  which  all  animated  life  is  referred. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  101 

His  location  in  systematic  arrangement,  and  the  various  con- 
ditions, physiological  and  historical,  connected  with  the  species, 
are,  therefore,  a  subject  of  the  highest  interest.  His  primeval 
position,  the  region  selected,  "where  history  and  science  can 
trace  his  first  habitation  and  development,  deserve  an  attention 
which  it  does  not  seem  to  have  as  yet  obtained ;  for,  by  investi- 
gation in  that  quarter  alone,  a  more  correct  estimate  of  the 
date  of  his  era,  anterior  to  the  great  superficial  disturbances 
which  have  occurred  on  earth,  can  be  arrived  at.  Hence  is 
drawn  the  value  of  a  clear  view  of  the  facts  belonging  to  the 
cavern  and  loam  deposits  of  organic  remains,  without,  as  well 
as  with,  human  bones,  and  the  so-called  petrified  skeletons  of 
man  which  have  been  detected  on  various  occasions.  Hence, 
also,  the  interest  attached  to  the  changes  which  have  occurred 
on  the  earth's  surface,  because  they  may  have  had  a  para- 
mount influence  on  the  primeval  distribution  of  man,  and  con- 
stitute the  only  additional  question  which  philosophical  research 
can  attach  to  the  primordial  history  of  the  human  species.  At 
a  later  period,  minor  catastrophes,  and  the  action  of  human 
passions,  led  to  known  migrations  by  sea,  and  to  the  progress 
of  colonization  by  land.  If  the  most  remote  were  causes  of  the 
approximation  of  different  species  of  man,  or  of  the  separation 
of  the  three  great  varieties  of  the  human  race,  taken  as  a  single 
species,  the  later  were  most  certainly  the  source  of  the  minor 
distinctions  which  do  exist,  both  between  nations  of  different 
,  and  of  the  same  original  stem. 
Although  the  question  of  the  unity  of  species,  —  that  is, 
whether  mankind  is  to  be  regarded  as  a  genus,  constituted  of 
three  or  more  species,  or  as  only  one,  composed  of  as  many  or 
of  a  greater  number  of  varieties,  subdivided  into  races,  —  may 
never  be  positively  decided,  it  will  not  the  less  remain  an 
inquiry  of  intense  interest  to  trace  the  several  conditions,  which, 
in  zoology,  are  assumed  to  have  a  preponderating  influence. 
Therefore,  researches  directed  to  the  questions  whether  the 
differences  of  conformation  are  sufficient  in  their  anatomical 
9# 


102  NAT!  RAL    BISTORT    OS 

and  external  characters,  or  the  varying  degrees  of  development 
of  the  intellectual  faculties  amount  to  a  body  of  facts  sufficient 
to  come  to  a  decision,  are  of  the  utmost  importance.  The 
laws  prescribed,  when  similar  questions  are  applied  to  the 
brute  creation,  we  contend,  should  be  equally  imperative  when 
relating  to  man  in  his  zoological  aspect ;  and  if  no  better  argu- 
ment or  more  decisive  fact  can  be  adduced,  than  that  axiom 
which  declares  that  "fertile  offspring  constitutes  the  proof  of 
identity  of  species,"  we  may  be  permitted  t>>  reply,  that  as  this 
maxim  does  not  repose  upon  unexceptionable  facts,  it  dew 
to  be  held  solely  in  the  light  of  a  criterion,  more  convenient  in 
systematic  classification  than  absolutely  correct.  So,  again,  in 
forming  an  estimate  of  the  antiquity  of  organic  remains,  in 
juxtaposition  with  those  of  man,  where  the  chemical  and  other 
conditions  of  the  bones  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  mammalia 
they  are  found  to  accompany,  they  must  be  judged  upon  the 
same  principles. 

With  the  foregoing  elements  in  view,  we  desire  to  i 
upon  the  chain  of  our  researches,  reminding  the  young  reader 
that  no  transient  facts,  solitary  examples,  or  even  allusions  to 
names  of  tribes,  legendary  or  religious,  are  disposed  of,  without 
entering  into  further  details;  but,  from  the  necessity  of  remain- 
ing within  the  restrictions  imposed  upon  us  by  the  want  of 
space,  although  many  may  be  far  from  needing  a  known  his- 
tory, or  they  occur  merely  as  fictions,  taken  from  physical 
realities,  such  as  the  mythologist,  versed  in  the  philosophy  of 
early  history,  will  immediately  recognize,  notwithstanding  that 
they  come  upon  him  under  the  combinations  of  a  fresh  aspect. 
But  where  traces  occur  of  great  nations,  and  especially  of  those 
that  have  had,  or  still  continue  to  have,  a  marked  influence  on 
human  destinies,  a  certain  extent  of  detail,  we  trust,  will  be 
justifiable. 

On  questions  of  antiquity,  involving  periods  of  time,  and  on 
others  which,  relate  to  the  measurements  of  distance  between 
geographical  points,  it  may  be  well  to  bear  in  mind  that  the 


THE    IIU.MAX    SPECIES.  103 

first,  having  no  physical  instrumentality,  is  liable  to  be  con- 
tracted to  within  assumed  chronological  data,  commencing  at 
arbitrary  epochs,  not  supported  by  researches  in  geology,  and 
often  appearing  to  be  of  insufficient  duration  ;  while  the  second, 
being  based  upon  measures  of  length,  either  undefined,  or  vary- 
ing in  different  places  and  times,  are,  from  an  innate  propensity 
in  the  human  mind  to  magnify  the  unknown,  stated  to  be  more 
than  the  reality.  The  purpose  before  us  is,  however,  sufficiently 
attained,  by  taking  given  ages  for  the  one,  and  approximation 
to  true  distances  for  the  other.  We  can,  by  these  means, 
notice  a  succession  of  epochs  in  the  conditions  of  the  earth's 
surface,  each  adapted  to  the  existence  of  vertebrated  animals, 
with,  it  appears,  an  atmospheric  state,  gradually  more  suited 
for  mammalia,  of  certain  orders  and  families,  until  it  became 
fit  for  the  reception  of  man,  whose  creation  may  have  synchro- 
nized with  the  decay  and  subsequent  disappearance  of  a  great 
proportion  of  the  most  powerful  and  fierce  species,  organized  to 
submit  to  some  law  of  decreasing  vitality,  yet  more  than  to  a 
cataclystic  destruction. 

Hi  re,  then,  we  have  the  heads  of  those  preliminary  consider- 
ations, which  demand  some  notice  of  the  great  disturbances 
that  have  affected  the  earth's  surface,  since  the  tertiary  period 
came  into  operation,  and  our  present  zoology  started  into  being. 
Next  will  be  found  requisite  a  few  details  on  the  bone  deposits 
before  mentioned,  by  whatever  agency  they  may  have  been 
formed ;  for,  as  by  the  former,  the  primordial  nations  may  have 
been  forcibly  scattered,  so,  by  the  latter,  their  actual  existence 
in  regions  now  s>r:arated  by  whole  oceans,  appear  to  be  indi- 
cated. 


104  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 


CHANGES     ON     THE     EARTH'S     SURFACE,     SINCE     THE     COM- 
MENCEMENT  OF   THE    PRESENT   ZOOLOGICAL   BYSTEM. 

The  present  superficial  character  of  the  earth  may  be  a 
result  of  the  combined  action  of  sudden  violent  disruptions, 
and  long  durations  of  gradual  disintegrations,  either  0] 
ing  as  restorers  of  equipoises  in  the  permanent  laws  of  ne- 
cessity, or  as  conductors  of  the  slow  process  of  accumula- 
tions, which  again  prepare  a  great  convulsion.  Taking  the 
newer  pliocene,  or  second  tertiary  age,  to  be  coincident  with  the 
mighty  changes  of  sea  and  shore,  when  volcanic  disturbances 
were  still  in  active  operation,  and  that  convulsive  state,  which 
subsequent  catastrophes,  and  the  succession  of  ages,  have,  as 
yet,  only  reduced  in  number,  and  moderated  in  force,  when 
first  a  congenial  atmosphere  had  begun  to  prevail,  we  have  an 
epoch  which  would  include  the  Mosaic  deluge,  and  terminate 
with  that  greatest  of  all  recorded  destructions,  —  one,  moreover, 
supported  by  innumerable  historical  confirmations,  although 
some  of  these  may  be  attributed  to  subsequent  periods,  and  to 
distinct  calamities,  such  as  the  bursting  of  the  barriers  of  great 
mountain  lakes,  and  irruptions  of  the  sea ;  for  these  being  con- 
founded, in  so  man)'  and  remote  quarters,  with  one  great  over- 
whelming event,  it  is  natural  that  the  reminiscence  should  be 
common  to  ever}-  region  of  the  world.  All  these,  whether  sud- 
den or  slow  disintegrations  of  portions  of  the  earth,  it  cannot 
be  doubted,  must  have  had  materia]  influence  on  the  distribu- 
tion of  races  and  human  development.  It  is,  indeed,  chiefly  by 
the  agency  of  these  changes, — by  the  insulation  of  parts  of 
continents,  resulting  from  submersions ;  and,  again,  by  the 
expansion  or  rising  of  the  submarine  floor,  whereon  islands 
may  have  stood,  till  they  united  into  continents,  —  that  many 
of    the   phenomena   of    zoological    distribution    can   be   best 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  105 

explained;  an.  if  this  observation  is  accepted  with  respect  to 
brute  mammals,  it  surely  implies  that  man,  at  least  in  some 
degree,  may  have  had  to  encounter  similar  contingencies. 

In  jrder  to  appreciate  the  great  changes  proved,  or  asserted 
to  have  occurred,  let  us  take  a  short  review  of  those  which  are 
the  most  prominent  in  the  physical  history  of  the  earth. 


ASIA. 

Asia,  apparently  the  most  ancient  integral  continent  of  the 
earth,  it  may  be  surmised,  is  held  aloft  by  the  agency  of  great 
subterrene  volcanic  trunks,  whose  direction  is  externally  mani- 
fested by  the  huge  mountain  range,  which,  passing  longitudi- 
nally from  east  to  west,  nearly  beneath  its  centre,  forms  the  gen- 
eral water  shed  to  the  south  and  to  the  north,  and  constitutes  the 
hinge,  the  axis  of  nutation,  to  the  whole  of  both  its  planes  towards 
the  two  oceans.  In  the  east,  the  chain  forms  two  or  more  paral- 
lel ridges,  widening  until  an  elevated  table-land,  of  prodigious 
extent,  is  included  between  them.  This  plateau  forms,  chiefly, 
the  Gobi  desert ;  its  northern  boundary  consisting  of  the  Altaic 
chain  facing  Siberia,  and  the  southern,  overlooking  the  great 
peninsula  of  India,  contains,  in  the  Himalaya  system,  the 
highest  mountains  of  the  world.*  To  the  westward,  it  is  con- 
tinued by  the  Hindu  Koh,  which  is  the  real  Caucasus,  and 
perhaps  the  Paropamissus  of  the  ancients.  Further  on,  the 
chain  of  Elburs  overhangs  the  southern  shore  of  the  Caspian ; 
then  succeeds  Western  Caucasus,  and  the  mountain  groups  of 
Asia  Minor  and  the  Crimea,  anciently  known  by  the  names  of 
Taurus  and  Tauris ;  this,  crossing  the  Hellespont  about  Con- 

*  That  this  lofty  chain  was  hove  up  at  a  much  more  remote  period,  is 
sufficiently  proved  by  the  presence  of  banks  of  oyster  shells,  discovered 
by  Dr.  Gerrard  at  16,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea;  ard  in  Thibet, 
shells  fallen  from  cliffs,  still  higher,  were  taken  up  at  the  height  of 
17,000  feet.  In  Asia  Minor,  oyster  beds  are  not  more  than  3000  feet 
above  the  sea. 


10G  NATURAL   HISTOBT   OF 

stantinople,  joins  the  Balkan  to  the  Illyriun  range,  and,  with 
broken  intervals,  passes  to  the  Carpathian  and  Alpine  systems, 
terminating  in  the  Pyrenees;  and  that,  recommencing  west  of 
the  Sea  of  Azoph,  proceeds  north  to  the  Euxine,  forming  the 
Cymbric  Chersonesus. 

From  the  culminating  points  of  this  central  region  to  the 
shores  of  every  sea,  we  find  traditions,  historical  records,  and 
demonstrated  facts,  attesting  changes  of  surface  and  of  level 
truly  appalling,  —  several  of  them  having  been  converted,  from 
physical  realities,  into  mythological  fictions.  In  the  north,  the 
Arctic  shore  has  been  for  ages  in  a  constant  rising  progress. 
Whole  regions  have  been  submerged  on  the  south  and  east  of 
Asia,  particularly  between  the  coasts  of  Malabar  and  Ceylon  ; 
and,  again,  vast  provinces  have  disappeared  in  the  Chinese  and 
Japan  Seas. 

Already,  in  remote  times,  volcanic  activity,  manifested  by 
upheaving  of  the  earth,  relieved  the  elevated  valleys  of  their 
lakes,  —  such  as  those  of  Cashmeer  and  of  Nepaul,  —  both 
events  being  recorded  in  the  traditions  of  the  people.  That  of 
the  western  Gobi  escaped  by  the  upper  Irtish,  and  the  lake  of 
Balcach  was,  most  likely,  absorbed  or  percolated  through  the 
sand  in  the  same  direction.  In  the  present  era,  percussions 
continue  to  be  frequent  in  Afghanistan  and  Caubul,  sometimes 
destroying  houses  and  whole  cities,  with  many  human  lives  ; 
and  they  are  still  more  abundant  and  violent  on  the  east  side, 
where  the  mountains  dip  into  the  northern  Pacific,  to  rise  again 
and  produce  desolation  in  Japan. 

A  diluvian  convulsion  evidently  occurred  during  the  present 
zoology.  It  passed  over  Western  Asia,  from  south  to  north, 
affecting  the  Arctic  coast,  and  snapping  a  portion  of  the  cardi- 
nating  mountain  ridge,  it  caused  the  surface  of  the  earth  to 
sink  below  the  level  of  any  known  dry  land,  excepting  the 
basin  of  the  Dead  Sea ;  thus  the  Caspian  formed  an  abyss ;  the 
Aral  lake,  and,  futther  west,  perhaps  the  Euxine  Sea  shared  the 
same  convulsion  ;  for  all  have  the  greatest  depth  of  water  on 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  107 

the  south  side,  close  upon  the  most  elevated  shores,  where  vol- 
canic detonations  are  still  constantly  felt.  Notwithstanding 
the  quiescent  state  of  the  high  sandy  plateau  of  Persia,  the  fre- 
quency of  naphtha  springs,  some  boiling,  others  in  actual  fit  me, 
with  constant  smaller  eruptions  along  the  northern  coast,  and  in 
other  parts  of  the  kingdom,  attest  the  presence  of  numerous 
ramifications  of  active  fires,  once  sufficiently  powerful  to  form 
lofty  mountain  peaks,  whose  summits,  such  as  Elburs  and 
Demavend,  show  by  their  craters,  now  extinct  or  inactive,  the 
vast  extent  and  force  of  the  disturbing  agency,  —  perhaps  still 
better  exemplified  in  the  high  cones  of  Ararat,  the  loftiest  of 
which  recently  fell  in,  and  proved  this  mountain  to  be  also  of 
volcanic  origin,  crumbling  in  decay. 


SOUTH  OF  ASIA. 
Turning  our  attention  to  the  south  coast,  at  the  Persian 
Gulf,  we  find  the  high  rocks  of  Laristan  and  Mekran  border- 
ing on  a  deep-water  sea,  belted  with  narrow  shores,  —  thus 
bearing  tokens  of  subsidence ;  for  though  Reesheer,  not  an 
ancient  place,  was  abandoned  in  the  seventeenth  century,  on 
account  of  the  encroachments  of  the  water,  Busheer,  built  in 
its  stead,  is  already  so  low  that,  during  certain  winds,  the 
whole  town  is  surrounded  by  the  flood. 


THE  INDUS. 
Beyond  Cape  Monze  (Ras  Moaree),  the  terminal  point  of 
the  Lukkee  mountains,  which  form  the  western  boundary  of 
the  Indus,  we  have  the  great  delta  of  that  mighty  river.  From 
the  point  where  the  stream  escapes  through  the  high  lands, 
and  now  pursues  a  course  almost  due  south,  there  are  abun- 
dant tokens  that  originally  it  flowed  nearly  south-east,  receiv- 
ing the  tributaries  of  the  Punjaub,  nearer  their  sources,  and 
reaching  the  Indian  Ocean  as  far  eastward  as  the  Rhunn  and 


108  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

Gulf  of  Cutch,  or  even  of  Cambay.  But,  in  a  succession  of 
ages,  it  has  either  filled  a  region  of  little  depth  ;  or,  by  a  con- 
stant erosion  of  the  western  banks,  from  longitude  7V>,  the  bed 
of  the  river  has  worked  westward  to  67°  10",  over  a  space  of 
nearly  ten  degrees.  Perhaps  allusion  is  made  to  the  great 
changes  in  the  direction  of  the  waters  of  North-Western  India. 
in  the  pretty  mythological  tale,  anciently  composed  on  the 
table  land  of  Ommurkuntur;  and  relating  the  amours  and 
jealous  quarrel  of  the  NerbuuMa  with  the  Burraet,  whose 
sources  are  not  far  asunder;  while  the  course  of  the  first  is 
westward,  that  of  the  latter  turns  east  to  join  the  Jumna. 

In  common  with  other  great  rivers  of  low  latitudes,  whose 
course,  unconfined  by  rocky  chains,  is  obliquely  to  or  from  the 
equator,  the  Indus  obeys  a  law,  probably  in  consequence  of  the 
earth's  daily  rotation,  which  impels  the  current  of  the  stream 
constantly  to  abrade  its  western  bank,  and  to  forsake  eastern 
channels;  so  also,  in  Arctic  regions,  it  causes  floating  ice  ever 
to  drift  westward,  and  to  pack  against  all  coasts  facing  the 
morning  sun.  The  same  results  still  occur;  the  current,  now 
in  contact  with  the  Lukkee  hills,  finds  them  an  ineffectual 
barrier  ;  for,  being  gravelly,  they  are  daily  undermined,  and, 
at  Sehwun,  the  face  of  the  rock  is  incessantly  carried  away. 
Even  the  road  by  which  Lord  Keene's  army  passed  round  its 
foot  was  so  entirely  swept  away  by  the  next  following  freshets, 
that,  in  a  twelvemonth  after,  boats  sailed  in  deep  water  over 
the  very  spot. 

In  the  first  ages  of  the  present  geological  disposition  of  the 
earth's  strata,  the  whole  space  below  the  Punjaub  may  be 
deemed  to  have  been  a  shallow  sea,  which  the  enormous 
deposits  of  the  river  constantly  tended  to  fill  up,  and  the  surf 
threw  back  in  the  form  of  sand  and  gravel,  until  the  whole 
space  was  filled,  down  to  the  edge  of  deep  water,  where  the 
currents  generated  by  the  monsoons  first  had  power  to  act; 
then  the  present  delta,  which  began  higher  up,  was  finally 
checked   or  reduced  to  very  gradual  additions.     Nor  is  this 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  109 

supposition  visionary.  "What  the  daily  deposits  can  produce, 
in  a  course  of  ages,  may  be  inferred  from  Dr.  Lord's  calcula- 
tion ;  for  he,  assuming  the  discharge  of  the  river  to  be  three 
hundred  cubic  feet  of  mud  per  second,  maintains  it  as  equal 
to  form,  in  seven  months,  an  island  forty-two  miles  in  length 
by  twenty-seven  in  breadth,  and  forty  feet  in  depth  ;  which, 
though  the  remaining  five  months  may  not  continue  an  equal 
daily  deposit  brought  down  from  high  Asia,  even  with  the 
allowance  that  a  considerable  exaggeration  may  exist  in  the 
estimated  quantities,  is,  nevertheless,  sufficient  to  have  replen- 
ished a  gulf  of  shoal  water,  of  enormous  extent,  in  a  few  cen- 
turies. Proportionably  as  the  current  shifted  to  the  westward, 
the  monsoon  winds  filled  up  the  abandoned  beds  of  the  stream 
with  drift  sand,  leaving  only  those  of  former  affluents  to  con- 
tinue their  course,  and  the  plain  to  become  a  desert  of  sand 
formed  in  ridges,  sometimes  of  a  considerable  height ;  for  the 
coasts  of  France,  Holland,  and  of  the  Baltic  near  Dantzig, 
demonstrate  that  the  surf  and  winds  can  elevate  them  to 
more  than  eighty  feet,  without  a  single  ingredient  in  their 
mass  to  give  them  real  stability.  Such  is  the  desert  of  the 
Indus  from  above  the  junction  of  the  Sutlege  (Hyphasis),  the 
lowest  of  the  Punjaub  rivers,  to  the  sea-shore  of  the  delta, 
where  Cutch,  once  a  great  island,  is  now  a  part  of  the  conti- 
nent. In  this  vicinity,  so  late  as  1S19,  a  vast  surface  of  sand 
suddenly  sunk  down,  upon  which  a  stream  of  the  Indus  came 
towards  Luckput  by  an  ancient  and  forsaken  channel  from 
Hyderabad  (Pattala?)  to  Bahmanabad,  and  filled  the  depressed 
soil  in  the  form  of  a  shallow  lake,  now  called  Ullahbund ;  and 
many  smaller  lagoons  of  similar  origin,  mere  water  deposits, 
are  still  dispersed  on  the  plains  eastward  beyond  Jeysulmair, 
to  the  Hoony  river  in  Malwah.^ 

*  By  information  very  recently  received,  it  appears  that  a  second  sub- 
mersion, greater  than  the  Ullahbund,  has  taken  place  during  the  present 
summer  (1845),  offering  a  further  confirmation  of  the  theory  above 
advanced. 

10 


110  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

Proceeding  to  the  opposite  coast  of  the  Gulf  of  Cutch,  we 
arrive  at  the  island  of  Bate,  or  ancient  Chunkodwar,  renou  ied 
in  the  legends  of  India  for  the  demon  Haiagrieva  concealing 
the  Vedas  in  a  conch  shell;  and  then,  on  the  furthest  point  of 
Gujrat,  observe  Cape  Juggeth,  at  a  distance  appearing  like  a 
stranded  ark,  or  wrecked  ship.  Here  is  a  celebrated  pagoda, 
connected  with  diluvian  legends,  for  on  this  coast  was 
Dwaraca,  now  represented  by  Mhadapore,  "  before  the  ocean 
broke  in  upon  the  land  ;"  and  it  is  still  pretended  that  the 
annual  mysterious  bird  makes  its  appearance,  as  it  did  in  the 
time  of  Alexander.  Inland  the  elevated  Ghauts  appeal  with 
but  an  insignificant  breadth  of  plain  at  their  base,  continuing 
from  Surat  to  Cape  Comorin,  in  other  respects  destitute  of 
indications  of  important  changes;  but  when  this  most  southern 
extremity  of  the  peninsula  is  turned,  the  sea  between  the 
mainland  and  the  island  of  Ceylon  is  found  to  be  of  inconsid- 
erable depth,  particularly  in  the  Gulf  of  Manaar,  abounding  in 
the  pearl  oyster;  and,  from  the  long  and  narrow  island  of  that 
name,  on  the  Ceylon  side,  a  shoal,  impassable  to  ships  of  bur- 
then, extends  across  the  intervening  space  to  Ramiseram,  a 
similar  low  and  lengthy  island,  which  almost  joins  a  point  of 
land,  projecting  far  out  from  the  coast  of  the  Carnatic.  This 
shoal,  based  perhaps  upon  a  natural  dyke  of  rock,  is  the  cele- 
brated Adam's  Bridge  of  geographers;  and,  at  the  time  of  the 
first  European  navigators,  still  retained  several  islands  above 
water.^  Both  Manaar  and  Ramiseram  are  decorated  with 
temples,  and  the  whole  region,  on  either  side,  is  redolent  of 

*  The  channels  have  shoaled  up  to  a  little  more  than  four  feet  of  water, 
as  we  were  informed  by  the  late  Major  Rennell,  who  had  surveyed  the 
vicinity,  since  the  French  Admiral,  SufFrein,  about  the  years  1730-81, 
caused  vessels  to  be  sunk  in  them,  from  an  apprehension  that  English 
forces  might  pass  through  these  gaps,  along  the  Indian  stores,  without 
his  knowledge,  and  avoid  going  round  the  south  side  of  Cey.bn.  Though 
at  certain  seasons  there  is  a  strong  current  in  the  channels,  it  is  likely 
that  the  usual  tides  meet  at  the  bridge,  for  the  lagoons  are  everywhere 
filling  up. 


TnE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  Ill 

mythological  legends  of  the  most  remote  antiquity.  The  sea, 
in  particular  that  portion  to  the  north  and  east  of  the  bridge, 
denominated  the  Palk  Strait,  is  the  recorded  space  of  a  great 
diluvian  submersion,  leaving,  on  the  Ceylon  side,  evidence  of 
the  fact,  in  the  cluster  of  Jafnapatam  islands,  and  innumerable 
lakes  and  ponds  on  the  Carnatic  side,  which  partly  recovered 
from  the  inundation.  The  space  of  land  submerged,  extended 
from  longitude  9°  to  10°  20"  north,  and  from  79°  to  S0°  15" 
east  —  above  3600  square  miles,  where  mankind,  as  it  appears, 
was  both  a  witness  and  a  sufferer.  Whether  this  particular 
calamity  was  one  of  many  postdiluvian  events,  resulting  from 
a  return  to  equipoises,  after  a  great  convulsion  in  nature,  or 
whether  it  was  in  connection  with  the  upheaving  of  Northern 
Asia,  must  be  mere  conjecture,  though  it  is  certain  that  the 
south  coast  for  ages  after,  and  even  now,  tends  to  continued 
depression. 

CEYLON. 

But  Ceylon,  the  Lanka,  Sinhala,  Dwipa,  Taprobana,  and 
Salice,  &c,  of  ancient  classics,  of  the  Hindoo  and  early  Ara- 
bian writers,  as  well  as  in  the  traditions  of  Southern  and 
Western  Asia,  and  even  in  the  opinion  of  a  great  modern 
geologist,  was  the  primeval  abode  of  man,  whose  first  station  on 
earth  lay  in  the  basin  of  Candy,  girt  round  with  high  preci- 
pices, where  the  Mavela  Gonga  rises  from  beneath  the 
summit  of  Mali  or  Hamateel,  better  known  in  Europe  by  the 
name  of  Adam's  Peak.  This  cone,  though  not  the  most 
lofty  in  the  island,  rises  to  7720  feet,  and  is  seen,  far  out  at 
sea,  towering  over  the  high-girt  vale,  which,  flourishing 
in  vegetation,  may  well  have  suggested  an  idea  of  Para- 
dise. On  the  highest  summit  there  is  one  of  those  manu- 
factured impressions  of  human  feet,  which  imposture  repre- 
sents  to  be   of  Adam  or  of   Budha,  and  belongs  to  a  very 


112  NATURAL  HISTORY   OE 

early  period.*  There  can  be  no  doubt  of  the  remote  civiliza- 
tion of  Ceylon,  and  the  ruins  of  enormous  cities,  such  as 
Palaesimundus  (Arrian),  Amuragramina,  Coodramalli  on  the 
pearl  coast,  and  the  innumerable  artificial  tanks,  certainly 
prove  an  enormous  and  industrious  population  to  have  once 
flourished  on  the  island. 

Although  Arabian  legends  of  Ceylon  have  an  air  of  the 
greatest  antiquity,  it  is  from  Hindoo  traditions,  both  in  the 
island  and  on  the  main  coast,  that  the  mythological  appropria- 
tions of  the  local  submersion  are  confounded  with  the  M 
or  general  deluge  of  history  ;  nevertheless,  a  separate  record  of 
the  scriptural  event  may  be  traced  coming  from  a  western 
source,  first  distinctly  announced  at  the  pagoda  of  Juggeth, 
before  mentioned;  and  from  thence  passing  onwards,  more  and 
more  distorted,  till  every  circumstance  is  obliterated,  in  fanci- 
ful tales,  at  the  black  pagoda  of  Juggernaut.* 

On  the  coast  of  the  Carnatic,  eastward  to  the  Bay  of  Bengal, 
where  several  considerable  rivers  incessantly  pour  down  their 
tributes  of  earthy  deposit,  not  only  no  perceptible  extension  of 
the  low  coast  is  discernible,  but  abrasion  by  surf,  and  occasional 
great  sea  waves,  indicate  progressive  depression.  All  the 
streams  are  barred,  and  in  deep  water  the  currents  are  violent; 
thus,  in  1793,  the  settlement  of  Coringa,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Cawvery,  was  overflowed  by  three  successive  seas,  with  most 
of  the  lives,  houses,  and  property  swept  away.  The  ruins  of 
Mahabalipuram,  at  no  great  distance  from  thence,  better  known 
as  the  seven  pagodas,  once  a  great  and  superb  city,  demon- 
strate the  sinking  soil,  by  several  of  the  temples  being  either 

*  This  was  already  an  ancient  practice  in  the  age  of  Herodotus. 
Before  his  time  there  were  some  dedicated  to  Osiris,  in  Upper  Egypt  ; 
one,  ascribed  to  Hercules,  was  carved  in  rock,  on  the  Danube  ;  others  are 
still  found  referred  to  Budha,  in  Japan  and  China.  Paducas  are  common 
in  India.  There  is  one  to  Moses  in  Sinai,  to  the  Saviour  at  Jerusalem,  t; 
Abraham  in  Arabia,  to  Mohammed  at  Mecca,  and  to  a  variety  of  sain 
in  Italy,  France,  and  even  Wales. 

t  Consult  Nearchus,  Ptolemy,  Kosmos,  Knox,  TJpham,  &c. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  113 

entirely,  or  already  partially,  in  conflict  with  the  waves. 
Annually,  immense  expense  is  incurred  to  defend  Madras  from 
the  menacing  sea ;  and  even  the  black  pagoda,  notorious  for 
the  inhuman  religious  practices  in  honor  of  Juggernaut,  is 
threatened  with  a  similar  fate ;  and  Hindoo  legends  tell  of  a 
primeval  temple  now  beneath  the  sands. 

THE  GANGES. 

In  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  where  the  Ganges  is  reported  to  dis- 
charge, per  day,  solid  matter  equal  in  cubic  bulk  to  the  great 
pyramid  of  Egypt,  and  the  Sunderbunda  or  Calingas  form  a 
delta  of  immense  breadth,  no  further  extension  is  observed  sea- 
ward;  but,  according  to  Major  Rennell,  a  vast  surface  of  land, 
with  the  ancient  city  of  Bengalla,  once  seated  at  the  eastern- 
most branch  of  the  river,  has  been  submerged  in  deep  water. 

Though  the  peninsula  is  perpetually  disturbed  by  earth- 
quakes, Allahabad  offers  one  of  the  few  indications  of  volcanic 
action,  above  the  surface,  by  the  thermal  waters,  observed  in  a 
deep  cave,  where  "  the  tree  of  Adam  continues  to  bud ;"  and 
beyond  the  Brahmaputra,  a  naphtha  spring,  in  perpetual  igni- 
tion, is  held  in  veneration  even  in  Thibet. 

AUSTRALASIA. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  down  to  the 
extremity  of  further  India,  the  shore,  rich  in  alluvial  deposits, 
brought  down  by  the  great  rivers  from  Indo-China,  repels  the 
western  monsoon,  and  maintains  a  powerful  seaward  vegeta- 
tion;  but  where  the  Malay  peninsula  extends  towards  the  great 
Australian  islands,  volcanic  disturbances  again  become  predom- 
inant, presenting,  in  their  extent,  above  fifty  craters  in  fearful 
activity.  Disruption  and  submersion  of  what  may  have  been 
a  continent,  a  kind  of  counterpart  to  South  America,  may  be 
surmised,  by  the  shallowness  of  some  parts  of  the  sea,  and  the 
10* 


114  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

exceeding  inequality  of  the  submarine  floor;  the  islands,  great 
and  small,  appearing  like  the  subsisting  ruins  of  a  once  united 
region,  which  the  straits  of  Malacca,  Sunda,  Bali,  the  Sea  of 
Banda,  &c,  have  separated,  from  the  effect  of  immense  percus- 
sions, originating  at  a  great  depth.  No  small  confirmation  to 
this  supposition  is  drawn  from  the  frequent  identity  of  the 
mammalia  observed  on  the  i.slands  and  the  neighboring  conti- 
nent; in  several  cases,  the  species  cannot,  with  any  probability, 
be  supposed  to  have  been  transported  from  one  to  the  other,  by 
human  intervention.  Some  of  these  are  Pachyderms,  common 
to  both,  and  others  of  the  same  order,  of  different  species;  such 
as,  1st.  Large  ruminants:  The  Banting,  Bos  leucoprymnus? 
Rusa,  or  Cervus  eqiimus,  Elant  of  the  Javanese  Dutch.  2d. 
The  Elephant  ?  two  or  three  species  of  Rhinoceros,  a  Tapir, 
and  many  more.  In  the  distribution  of  zoological  species, 
there  is  no  other  instance  of  great  Pachyderms  being  confined 
to  insulated  locations,  and  none  where  the  same  species  occur 
on  two  or  more  of  them,  and  again  on  the  mainland  of  the  next 
continent.  They  offer,  therefore,  additional  arguments  in 
favor  of  the  conclusion,  that  in  the  earlier  period  of  the  existing 
zoology,  all  these  great  islands  formed  part  of  the  continent ; 
and  that  in  one  anterior  to  it,  the  connection  extended  to  Aus- 
tralia, since  fossil  remains  of  great  Proboscideans  (Elephas 
angustidens  ?)  have  already  been  discovered  in  that  soil ;  not- 
withstanding that  the  present  mammalia,  perhaps  with  the 
only  exceptions  of  the  dog  and  rat,  (both  imported  species,) 
are  entirely  im placental,  with  fewer  congeners  on  the  Asiatic 
than  on  the  American  side  of  the  southern  hemisphere.  These 
exceptions  in  the  former  direction,  are  chiefly  confined  to  those 
islands,  great  and  small,  clustered  together  on  the  north  of  the 
Australasian  group,  and  with  more  questionable  connection, 
extending  by  New  Guinea  to  the  south-east,  including  several 
Archipelagos  and  Nev  Caledonia,  all  notoriously  encumbered 
with  cora.  reefs,  ever  he  certain  indications  of  comparatively 
shoal   waters,   and   by    Torres    Straits   passing   to   Australia 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  115 

proper;  foi:  the  strait  which  severs  it  from  New  Guinea  is 
almost  fordable  in  many  parts,  the  ship  channels  being  narrow 
and  dangerous  passes.  The  whole  of  the  islands  in  question, 
from  New  Guinea  to  beyond  the  Solomon's  group,  bear  a  still 
greater  appearance  of  cataclysis,  not  by  division  so  much  as  by 
submersion.  Beside  the  singular  zoology  already  noticed,  the 
ec]uatorial  islands  are  the  habitation  of  Simiada,  such  as  the 
Gibbons,  (Hylohates,)  or  long-armed  apes,  and  of  two  or  three 
species  of  Pithecus,  or  Orang  Outan,  in  stature  as  large  as 
men,  and  in  strength  superior  to  eight  or  more,  —  of  all  the 
brute  creation  the  genus  which  structurally  approximates  most 
to  man,  who,  to  the  eastward  and  in  Australia,  is  himself 
represented  by  Papua  tribes,  cannibals  so  low  in  the  scale  of 
numanity,  that,  were  it  not  for  the  admixture  of  other  blood, 
hopes  of  ameliorating  their  condition  would  appear  illusory. 
They  might  be  considered  to  form  the  centre  of  that  antique 
population  which  alone  occupied  the  southern  hemisphere, 
before  the  diffusion  of  the  bearded  or  Caucasian  man;  a  popu- 
lation primevally  formed  to  breathe  and  multiply  in  the  heated 
and  moist  atmosphere  of  tropical  swamps  and  forests,  at  a 
period  when  the  great  Saurians  and  the  now  extinct  Pachy- 
derms existed ;  and  that  their  native  region,  extending  far  east- 
ward in  the  Pacific,  had  in  great  part  subsided,  leaving  the 
islands  and  their  organic  creation,  the  evident  wreck  of  a 
former  system  of  existence. 

EAST   COAST   OF   ASIA. 

It  is  off  the  east  coast  of  this  part  of  Asia  that  the  main 
ramification  of  galleries  passes  from  Japan  to  the  north,  as  far 
as  Kamtschatka,  and  to  the  south  by  several  trunks,  beneath 
the  Bonin,  Sulphur,  Marian,  and  Ladrone  groups;  and  again, 
by  the  Philippines,  Banda,  &c,  become  connected  with  the 
great  equatorial  centre  of  ignition  in  Java  and  the  surrounding 
craters.      Although    Chinese   history   commences   with   their 


116  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

deified  heroes,  toiling  to  clear  the  upper  provinces  of  lakes  and 
marshes,  the  sea,  particularly  between  the  main  coast  and 
Formosa,  by  many  geographical  indications,  supports  the  local 
tradition  of  submersions;  such  as  Mauri  Gasima,  and  other 
islands  shown  by  the  shoals,  at  the  still  remaining  Piscadore 
and  Bashee  islets  ;  and  the  tale,  notwithstanding  a  due  allow- 
ance for  the  expert  impostorship  of  the  natives,  seems  con- 
firmed, by  the  fishermen's  dragnets  occasionally  bringing  to  the 
surface  a  curiously  colored  porcelain,  which  the  art,  as  now 
understood  in  the  Celestial  Empire,  is  unable  to  produce.  The 
continent  is  separated  from  Formosa  by  a  sea,  we  believe,  always 
in  soundings,  the  shores  being  bordered  with  a  broad  belt  of  sand, 
swamp,  or  sunken  rock,  generally  indications  of  progressive 
denudations  ;  and  both  coasts  are  not  unfrequently  visited  by 
calamitous  overflowings.  Since  these  lines  were  first  written, 
(1S45),  if  the  foreign  news  may  be  credited,  an  event  of  this  kind 
has  again  taken  place  on  the  maritime  provinces  and  the  Yellow 
Sea,  the  waters  rising  in  the  Gulf  of  Pechelee,  to  the  destruction 
of  several  hundred  thousand  human  lives,  innumerable  cattle, 
the  loss  of  all  the  houses  and  provisions,  and  the  total  ruin  of 
above  sixteen  millions  of  the  population,  who  were  driven  to 
seek  shelter  and  food  in  the  upland  provinces.  Even  admit- 
ting probable  exaggeration  in  the  report,  it  is  an  event  far  sur- 
passing the  traditional  deluges  of  Greece,  or  any  other 
recorded  in  profane  history.  It  is  an  occurrence  that  may 
boldly  be  claimed  as  a  proof  of  continued  depression  of  the 
southern  and  eastern  shores  of  Asia,  and  the  oscillations  pro- 
duced on  the  sea  by  submarine  disturbance,  which  then,  like  a 
great  tide  wave,  passes  upon  the  land  far  above  its  usual 
limit. 

In  Japan,  volcanic  convulsions  have  been  unremitting,  from 
periods  anterior  to  the  most  ancient  records  of  the  nation ;  for 
to  them  alone  can  be  ascribed  the  repeated  discoveries,  at  great 
depths,  of  jewels  and  manufactured  objects,  totally  distinct 
from  the  present  and  noticed  by  all  the  native  literati  as  more 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  117 

ancient  than  the  existing  creation.  On  the  line  of  volcanic 
agitation,  south  of  Japan,  and  near  a  crater  in  constant  activity 
is  the  island  of  Assumcion,  (or  Ascension,)  one  of  the  Marian 
group  (?)  —  now,  like  many  others  of  this  and  neighboring 
clusters,  low  and  small :  —  here  there  was  lately  discovered, 
by  the  officers  of  H.  M.  Sloop  Raven,  the  ruins  of  a  city,  still, 
it  seems,  known  by  the  name  of  Tamen.  It  stands  so  far  in 
the  wash  of  the  waves  that  a  boat  is  necessary  to  land  at  the 
buildings,  which  are  composed  of  very  large  blocks  of  stone, 
some  being  twenty  feet  in  length.  Other  reports  were  subse- 
quently brought  to  Sydney,  stating  that  one  or  two  other  cities 
of  similar  work,  were  extant  on  other  islands,  and  equally  sub- 
merged. One,  indeed,  seated  on  an  island,  named  Pouznipete. 
or  Seniavane,  is  mentioned  by  Mr.  C.  Darwin,  in  his  volume 
on  the  structure  and  distribution  of  coral  reefs,  but  he  supposes 
it  to  be  the  same  as  the  first  mentioned.^  Tinian,  however,  is 
not  far  remote,  and  there,  when  Lord  Anson  landed,  were 
found  two  parallel  rows  of  squared  upright  stones,  in  the  form 
of  obelisks,  each  surmounted  by  a  coping  block,  immediately 
recalling  to  mind  the  colossal  pillar-idols  of  Easter  Island,  which 
are  known  to  have  been  the  work  of  a  departed  population, 
probably  of  the  same  race  that  once  inhabited  Pitcairn's,  the 
late  well-known  retreat  of  the  mutineers  of  the  Bounty.  These 
antique  and  now  forsaken  cities  must  have  been  constructed  by 
a  people  totally  distinct  from  the  present  inhabitants,  and  much 
more  numerous  than  the  existing  locality  could  now  supply 
with  food.  The  group  is  entirely  composed  of  volcanic  cones, 
and  of  low  coral  reef  islands ;  and  we  agree  with  Mr.  Darwin 
in  opinion,  that  they  are  the  remains  of  land  once  much  greater 
in  extent,  but  sunken  beneath  the  sea's  level,  by  the  effect  of 

*  The  most  recent  maps  are  unsatisfactory  with  reference  to  these 
islands  ;  and,  as  both  Mr.  Darwin's  account  and  our  own  were  derived 
from  the  Sydney  papers,  it  may  he  well  to  remain  somewhat  in  doubt  on 
the  truth  of  the  reports.  We  arc  obliged  to  that  scientific  observer  for  a 
n"Ji  on  this  subject. 


118  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

the  excavations  of  igneous  exhaustion.  The  population  was 
once  unquestionably  organized  in  a  social  state;  it  may  have 
been  a  kind  of  Austral  Pelasgian  people,  distinct  from  the  pres- 
ent Jacalvas  Biagoos,  or  Sea  Gypsies,  who  always  live  on  the 
water ;  but  that  one  has  wandered,  as  navigators  and  workers 
in  stone,  across  the  whole  breadth  of  the  South  Seas,  is  proved 
by  the  monuments  left  on  the  islands  above-mentioned,  not- 
withstanding the  great  distance  they  are  asunder;  perhaps  the 
builders  of  the  great  pyramids  in  some  of  the  Australasian 
islands,  —  again  repeated,  under  the  name  of  Morais,  in  many 
of  the  South  Sea  groups,  —  the  same  who  ultimately  passed 
to  the  west  coast  of  America,  and  introduced  similar  structures 
at  Cholula  and  many  other  places;  models  upon  which  the 
indigenous  civilization  of  the  New  World  was  based  and  pro- 
gressing, notwithstanding  the  vicissitudes  of  international  wars 
and  conquests,  until  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  laid  the 
whole  western  fabric  in  the  dust.* 


ARCTIC  ASIA. 

Behrixg's  Strait  is  generally  of  a  trifling  depth,  scarcely 
forty  miles  wide,  having  several  denudated  and  abraded 
islands  intervening;  and  the  coasts,  in  many  parts,  composed 
more  of  frozen  earth  than  solid  rock.  As  the  water,  with 
several  shoals,  is  floored  with  fossil  bones  and  shells,  and  there 
being  no  river  of  importance  on  either  shore  of  the  continents, 
or  near,  on  the  Arctic  side,  no  great  pressure  can  have  come 
from  the  polar  ocean;  and,  consequently,  no  great  opening,  if 
any,  until  the  Arctic  rising  of  Asia  and  Europe  altered  the 
relative  conditions  of  th:3  two  seas.  That  once  there  was  no 
current,  may  be  inferred  from  the  islands  of  New  Siberia,  and 
the  vicinity  being  in  part  composed  of  ice,  mixed  with  mammoth 
bones,  tusks,  ani  other  organic  remains;  and  the  presence  of 

*  See  Addenda. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  119 

several  species  of  land  mammals,  common  to  both  continents, 
attests  a  facility  of  passing  from  one  to  the  other,  and  a  pas- 
sage to  have  been  effected  by  several  of  them  on  the  ice. 

While  the  foregoing  statements  sufRcieiitly  demonstrate  a 
continued  declination  of  the  south  and  east  coasts  of  Asia,  the 
case  appears  entirely  reversed,  from  the  lofty  central  mountain 
hinge  northward  to  the  shores  facing  the  Arctic  Sea.  Chinese 
documents  of  remote  antiquity  report  the  land  to  have  termi- 
nated at  no  great  distance  beyond  the  mountain  chain  of  North- 
ern Tahtary;*  skeletons  of  whales  having  been  found  800 
miles  inland,  up  the  Lena. 

The  enormous  loads  of  debris  which  some  rivers,  amongst 
the  largest  in  the  world,  incessantly  pour  forth  from  the 
great  central  chains  of  Asia,  convert  them,  during  the  melt- 
ing of  the  snows,  for  a  considerable  period  to  the  breadth 
of  marine  straits,  and  carry  away  hills,  banks,  and  forests,  in 
their  course ;  and  constantly  shift  the  soil  in  such  a  manner, 
that,  speaking  of  a  more  elevated  basin,  Cochrane  remarks  :  — 
"It  is  but  twenty  years  since  the  present  centre  of  the  river 
Selinga  was  the  centre  of  the  city  Selenginsk."     The  Obi, 

*  According  to  the  Chevalier  Paravey,  north-eastern  Asia  was  still 
rising  within  the  last  two  centuries.  The  shadow  of  a  gnomon,  set  up  in 
1260,  by  order  of  Kobi-lay,  emperor  of  China,  proves  that  the  northern 
coast  then  ranged  between  the  63d  and  64th  degrees  of  north  latitude  ; 
whereas,  now  it  is  above  70  degrees.  —  Memoir  read  at  the  Geographical 
Society,  8th  Feb.,  1S41  ;  see  Biblioth.  Orientate  d'Herbelot,  t.  iv.,  p.  171  ; 
Hedenstrochm. M.  Arago  remarks  that  the  ice  has  greatly  accumu- 
lated in  the  Arctic  seas  within  the  latter  centuries,  and  rendered  navi- 
gation round  the  polar  extremity  of  Nova  Zembla  totally  impracticable, 
although  the  foregoing  travellers  maintain  that  the  cold  in  eastern  Siberia 
decreases  sensibly  ;  and  this  opinion  is  in  perfect  accordance  with  the 
gradual  rising  of  the  polar  shore,  for  that  must  increase  the  power  of  the 
sun's  rays  very  considerably,  on  the  oblate  spheroid  surface  of  the  Arctic 
Circle.  Strahlenberg  notices  the  entire  hull  of  a  keeled  ship  being  found  in 
the  Barabinsk,  between  six  and  seven  hundred  miles  from  the  sea.  Wran- 
gel  observed  drift-wooc  above  the  highest  sea  level,  upwards  of  50  versts 
inland,  and  other  phen  mena  of  7isings  of  the  surface.     See  Reise. 


120  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

Jenissei,  and  Lena,  all  overflow  to  a  vast  extent,  as  was 
already  remarked  by  Abulghazi ;  and  no  doubt  the  deposits  of 
so  many  streams  contribute  largely  to  the  extension  of  the 
shores  in  the  Arctic  Circle;  but  the  increase  thus  obtained 
cannot  be  of  sufficient  extent  to  account  for  the  rapid  pro 
of  the  land,  even  where  the  depth  is  inconsiderable,  and  little 
current  exists.  It  militates  against  the  conclusions  of  the  most 
scientific  travellers  who  have  visited  the  localities ;  among 
whom  Strahlenberg,  Pallas,  and  Humboldt  stand  conspicuous; 
and  is  an  opinion,  moreover,  that  every  new  research  tends  to 
strengthen,  and  one  in  unison  with  the  belief  of  all  the  barba- 
rous tribes  that  wander  over  those  inhospitable  regions. 


CASPIAN  BASIN,  AN  ASIATIC  MEDITERRANEAN. 

A  gradual  upheaving  of  the  Arctic  shore,  chiefly  on  the 
north-west  of  Tahtary,  and  also  to  the  west  of  the  Oural  chain, 
can  alone  explain  the  general  fact,  which,  in  the  north  of 
Europe,  is  now  fully  established ;  and  furnishes,  also,  the  best 
argument  to  account  for  the  loss  of  that  great  inland  sea  which 
once  spread  over  the  low  bed  where  now  the  Obi  and  Irtish 
flow  united,  covering  the  whole  lower  Ichim  and  Tobol,  the 
Barabintz,  Lake  Aksakal,  and  the  innumerable  pools,  sea 
sands,  incrustations,  and  efflorescences  of  salt,  and  recent 
shells.  It  reached  by  the  Aral  to  the  Caspian,  was  further 
connected  with  the  Black  or  Euxine  Sea,  at  that  period  inun- 
dating a  considerable  proportion  of  Southern  Russia,  and  unit- 
ing with  the  Baltic,  had  again  open  communication  with  the 
White  Sea  and  the  Arctic  Ocean,  both  by  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia 
and  by  that  of  Finland.^ 

The  Caspian  Sea,  by  accurate  measurements  taken  in  1S44, 
is  eighty-three  and  a  half  feet  below  the  Mediterranean,  or 
about  sixty-five  feet  lower  than  the  Sea  of  Azoph;  and  Lake 

*  See  Addenda. 


THE   HUMAN   iSPECIES.  121 

Aral,  though  higher,  is  still  known  to  be  below  the  level  of  the 
Euxine.  Both  are,  with  the  exception  of  the  Caucasian  moun- 
tain system,  and  the  Elburs  chain,  entirely  surrounded  by 
saline  plains  of  hard  clay,  and  low  sandy  steppes ;  on  the  west, 
extended  to  the  Sea  of  Azoph  and  the  Euxine,  and  between 
the  Kama,  Don,  Wolga,  Jaik,  Lake  Aksakal,  the  lower  Ichim, 
and  the  Amoo,  covering  a  space  of  18,000  square  leagues.  In 
addition  to  the  inland  seas  already  mentioned,  on  the  south- 
east is  the  desert  of  Karakoum,  or  of  black  sand,  estimated, 
alone,  at  150  miles  in  length,  by  100  in  breadth,  forming  a 
plain  without  a  tree,  —  the  floor  of  an  evaporated  and  perco- 
lated sea. 

With  the  exception  of  the  Oulon-tag,  the  Ildiglis,  and  the 
low  Monghogar  hills,  the  surface  extends  north-eastward,  with 
scarcely  an  undulation.  It  is  studded,  in  all  directions,  with 
smaller  lakes,  sedgy  pools,  morasses,  and  temporary  rivers, 
which  now  terminate  in  small  water  basins,  or  are  lost  in  the 
sand ;  and  the  occasional  more  elevated  spaces  are  always 
edged  by  water-worn  indications.  The  vast  lake,  which  for- 
merly covered  a  great  space  on  the  south  of  Khiva,  in  long. 
59°,  lat.  41°  15",  has  disappeared,  all  but  a  few  pools,  where 
the  whole  region  is  intersected  with  vestiges  of  ancient  canals 
of  irrigation,  now  dried  up.  These  show  a  second  stage,  or 
era,  when  the  sea  had  departed,  and  rivers  still  flowed  onwards 
to  the  Caspian.  So,  also,  the  Kirguise  steppe,  forming  the 
northern  portion  of  the  depressed  region,  is  composed  of  a  cold 
clay,  which,  notwithstanding,  was  anciently  productive  of  a 
remunerating  income  to  the  cultivator;  but  husbandry  con- 
tinuing to  be  invaded  by  a  black  sea-sand,  blown  from  the 
north,  whole  districts  are  now  uninhabitable;  and  ruins  of 
ancient  farms,  rendered  desolate  by  a  bed  of  this  destroying 
substance,  attest  the  progress  and  influence  of  the  northern 
upheaving.  The  dust  comes  up  from  the  Obi,  and  the  results 
are  comparatively  recent,  though  their  commencement  must 
date  back  to  a  remote  period.  They  were,  no  doubt,  early,  a 
11 


122  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

cause  of  the  destruction  of  the  caravan  trade,  already  on  the 
decline  during  the  Roman  empire,  and  show  that  the  efforts 
of  Russia  to  revive  it  are  unavailing,  because,  the  course  of  the 
Oxus  being  changed,  trade  no  longer  reaches  the  Caspian  by 
boats;  and,  moreover,  water  becoming  annually  more  scarce, 
the  nomad  hordes  of  the  desert,  gradually  deprived  of  cultiva- 
tion by  the  inroads  of  the  sea-sand,  and  driven  eastward  by  the 
want  of  that  necessary  element,  are  necessitated  to  live  by 
rapine  where  the  earth  grants  no  subsistence.* 

Rivers  like  the  Jaxartes,  now  denominated  the  Syrderiah,  or 
Syhoun,  and  the  Oxus,  since  called  Jeyhoun  and  Amou, 
which,  according  to  the  ancients,  originally  flowed  more 
directly  westward  to  the  Caspian,  are  now  turned  into  the 
Aral,  —  a  result  which  changes  in  the  plane  of  declivity  alone 
could  produce,  although  the  fact  has  been  repeatedly  ascribed 
to  the  labors  of  a  poor,  idle,  and  scanty  population,  destitute  of 
mechanical  skill,  and  almost  of  property  in  the  soil.  The  Jax- 
artes now  reaches  Lake  Aral  through  a  sedgy  bed,  filling  the 
north-eastern  angle  with  clusters  of  islands,  successively  pro- 
duced by  the  deposits  bearing  the  same  aquatic  plants.  The 
Tanghi-Deriah,  said,  anciently,  to  have  constituted  the  Deltic 
branch  of  the  Jaxartes,  which  discharged  its  waters  into  the 
Caspian,  is  reported  to  have  been  turned  off  by  the  Khokani- 
ans,  who,  dreading  the  Khiva  robbers  might  plant  colonies  of 
their  own  people  along  the  stream,  raised  a  bank  to  cut  off  the 
current.  Although  great  rivers  are  not  to  be  thus  turned  from 
their  natural  course,  the  dry  bed  certainly  exists.  It  is  now 
overgrown  with  Anabasis  ammodendronA 


*  See  Report  to  the  Acad,  des  Sciences,  Paris,  by  M.  Hommaire  Dehel, 
on  the  levels  of  the  Caspian  and  Aral,  and  on  the  decrease  of  the  Oxus 
and  Volga.     April,  1843. 

t  We  doubt  this  being  the  same  as  the  Janderiah,  which  forsook  its  bed 
so  late  as  1816.  Report  of  a  Memoir  by  M.  A.  De  KanikofT,  to  the  Geo- 
graphical Society  of  London,  November,  1844.  It  is  reported  by  Arab  an 
authors  that  both  rivers  remained  dry  for  seven  years,  about  460,  and  the 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  123 

The  Oxus  was  stated  already,  in  antiquity,  to  have  changed 
her  course ;  probably  because  the  bed  of  the  stream  shifted 
repeatedly ;  for  undeniable  vestiges  of  a  broad  river  course, 
with  upright  water-worn  banks,  occur  between  Khiva  and  the 
Caspian,  and  notably  near  Old  Ourgengj.  Both  streams  now 
hasten  the  repletion  of  the  Aral,  already  of  small  depth  and 
full  of  islands ;  and  these  noble  rivers,  at  some  future  period, 
may  be  lost  in  the  sand,  or  take  a  course  still  further  north,  to 
Lake  Aksakal,  or  ultimately  reach  the  Tobol  or  the  Ichim,  and 
terminate  in  the  Polar  Sea. 

Such  are  the  abstracts  of  statements,  and  the  inferences 
which  establish  the  existence  of  an  Asiatic  Mediterranean,  or, 
rather,  a  lagoon  sea,  in  the  earlier  period  of  man's  presence  on 
the  earth  ;  for  until  ages  after,  though  in  a  gradual  progress  of 
evanescence,  desiccation  was  not  effected  till  the  bed  and 
mouth  of  the  Obi  were  elevated,  when  the  mass  of  waters  in 
the  lagoons,  no  longer  fed  by  external  supplies,  and  being 
of  themselves  insufficient  to  maintain  the  equilibrium  against 
percolation  and  the  power  of  solar  heat  upon  sand  and  hard 
clay,  absorbed  such  an  amount  of  moisture  that  the  level  of  the 
dry  plains  is  now  far  below  the  surface  of  the  ocean.  But  so 
long  as  there  was  a  sea,  Northern  Europe  was  insulated,  inac- 
cessible to  migration,  excepting  on  the  winter's  ice,  and  in  the 
skin  or  birchen  kayaks  of  polar  nations.  Geographically,  our 
best  course  is  now  to  continue  the  description  of  the  progres- 
sive rising  of  the  Arctic  soil  in  Europe,  and  to  return  by  the 
Mediterranean  to  Western  Asia;  because  the  chief  phenomena 
affecting  changes  on  the  earth's  surface  are  again  common  to 
both  quarters  of  the  world ;  in  the  north  referring  mainly  to 
the  same  effects  as  already  noticed  in  Asia,  but  with  more 
undeniable  proof;  and,  in  the  south-east  of  the  Mediterranean, 

statement  is  countenanced  by  the  appearance  above  noticed,  and  perhaps 
still  more  by  the  prodigious  number  of  Indo-German  and  Tahtar  invaders, 
which  broke  in  upon  Europe  about  that  period.  They  could  not  remain 
in  a  land  without  water. 


124  NATl  ELAL    BIST0B1    OP 

marked  by  volcanic  perturbations,  passing,  from  time  to  time, 
through  Western  Asia  to  Africa,  and  sometimes  extending  con- 
vulsively to  Western  Europe  and  even  to  the  Azores. 

EUBOPR 

EUROPE,  ill  many  respects,  is  only  the  western  prolongation 
of  Asia,  where  features  of  the  great  central  chain  of  mountains 
similarly, break  into  ramified  systems,  turned  to  the  Atlantic; 
while,  on  the  east,  they  end  or  border  the  Pacific.  On  each 
coast  there  are  mighty  islands,  containing  the  most  energetic 
populations;  and  on  each  continent  are  the  two  forms  or  races 
of  mankind,  which  alone  have  advanced  in  mental  develop- 
ment, without  any  common  point  of  departure  hitherto  philo- 
sophically substantiated.  Both  quarters  have  volcanic  spiracula 
in  the  seas  beyond  them,  and  on  the  shores,  though  not  in  the 
same  degrees  of  activity ;  for  while  the  craters  of  many  on  the 
main  land  of  Kamtschatka,  in  the  Japanese  islands,  and  on 
multiplied  points  in  the  Chinese  and  neighboring  seas,  are 
incessantly  incandescent,  those  of  Europe,  with  exception  of 
the  Italian,  are  dormant  or  extinct;  and  though  the  Azorean 
cluster  turmoils  on  a  smaller  scale,  Hecla,  in  the  high  north, 
alone  has  produced  devastations,  within  the  period  of  historical 
cognizance,  sufficient  to  affect  profoundly  the  permanent  inter- 
ests of  a  resident  population.  At  the  bifurcations  of  the 
European  continuation  of  the  great  mountain  chains  of  central 
Asia,  are  dislocations  of  great  extent,  among  which  that  formed 
by  the  great  basin  of  the  Euxine,  or  antique  Axenus,  is  the 
most  remarkable.  Its  present  outlet  at  the  Bosphorus,  dating, 
probably,  not  much  anterior  to  the-  Greek  heroic  age,  was 
clearly  a  consequence  of  increased  pressure,  produced  by  the 
waters  of  the  inland  seas,  already  noticed,  increasing  their 
weight  towards  the  south,  in  proportion  as  the  north  was  hove 
up ;  and  both  the  Ouralian  and  Sarmatian  arms  were  cut  off 
from  their  :ommunications  with  the  ocean,  but  were  not  to  be 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  125 

converted  into  marshes  and  deserts  until  drained  off  by  a  new 
outlet,  and  when  the  sun  could  act  with  power  in  the  process 
cf  absorption.  Then  it  was  that  the  emphatica]  expressions  of 
"the  kings  of  the  isles,"  and  "isles  of  the  west,"  which  desig- 
nate Europe  in  the  oldest  human  records,  were  correct  in  the 
strictest  sense;  and,  until  the  progressive  results  had  been  long 
in  operation,  man  was  not  able  to  reach  Europe  in  the  strength 
of  numbers,  but  only  by  families,  or  small  clans  of  wanderers, 
in  canoes  or  rafts,  on  the  northern  ice,  or  at  the  isthmus  of 
Thrace,  before  it  was  rent  asunder  by  a  volcanic  percussion, 
and  the  local  deluges  of  Hellenic  mythology  took  place. 

Russia,  west  of  the  Oural  chain,  exhibits  a  counter  direction 
of  water-courses,  which  forms  a  kind  of  table  land  in  the 
Vologda  province,  flowing  towards  the  Caspian  and  the  Eux- 
ine,  and  having  only  inferior  rivers  turned  towards  the  pole. 
Hills,  or  small  mountain  clusters,  commence  already  to  rear 
their  heads  amid  the  marshes  and  lakes  bordering  on  the  Arc- 
tic shore,  through  the  whole  province  of  Archangel,  becoming 
more  elevated  westward,  after  the  interval  occasioned  by  the 
White  Sea,  till  they  reach  their  utmost  north  and  Western 
limits  in  the  Lapland  system.  Vologda,  and  the  surrounding 
high  lands  of  Russia,  were  then  an  insulated  prolongation  of 
the  Oural  range,  full  of  forests  and  marshes,  with  the  Euxine 
reaching  to  a  great  distance  inland,  and  the  Chersoncsus  (now 
Crimea)  was  a  rocky  island.*  At  present  the  southern  steppes 
or^  still  composed  of  sea-sands,  and  the  vegetation  consists 
almost  wholly  of  saline  plants,  —  Artemisia:,  Saholcc,  and  Salt- 
cornice,  —  and  lakes  of  salt  water  are  frequent  in  the  eastern 
parts;  but  the  great  affluents  towards  the  south  attest  the  des- 
iccation of  the  soil  by  a  progressive  diminution  of  water.  The 
fact  applies  equally  to  the  Volga,  Oural,  and  Don,  as  well  as 
to  the    Borysthenes   or  Dnieper,   and   the    Boug,  the  sacred 

*  Ai-petri,  the  culminating  point  of  the  Crimea,  is  estimated  at  3500 
feet  above  the  sea. 

11* 


126  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

stream  of  antique  Russia,  the  seat  of  Asa  gods,  when  their 
Alan  kindred  still  possessed  the  hanks  of  the  Don.  At  that 
period,  Sacae  wandered  over  the  newly  recovered  plains  of 
western  Siberia,  and  the  great  streams  just  mentioned  had 
ceased  to  form  Archipelagos  of  upland  islands  and  peninsulas, 
between  shallow  creeks,  marshy  woods,  and  salt  water  pools, 
not  even  now  obliterated.*  Leaving,  for  the  present,  other 
considerations  affecting  the  Euxine,  till  the  volcanic  system  of 
eastern  Europe  is  under  review,  we  proceed  with  the  Scandi- 
navian peninsula. 


ARCTIC  EUROPE. 

From  Cape  North,  to  the  southward  and  east,  as  already 
observed,  the  Lapland  high  lands  are  a  system  spreading  to 
the  head  of  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  and,  in  connection  with  the 
high  mountain  chain  of  Scandinavia,  once  formed  a  gTeat 
island,  the  Scansia  of  Jornandes.  The  gulf  and  White  Sea 
being  still  connected,  in  1450,  by  the  Kitkacerva,  and,  probably, 
also,  by  the  Ulea  Lakes ;  and,  more  anciently,  the  Ladoga  and 
Onega,  communicating,  by  the  Ozero  Sig  and  Ozero  Vigo, 
with  the  Arctic  Sea.  The  greater  part  of  Finland,  thick  set 
with  pools,  is  in  itself  strong  evidence  of  the  fact.  At  the 
summit  of  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  it  had  long  been  observed  that 
the  sea  was  retiring  by  slow  degrees,  not  so  much  from  the 
effect  of  fresh  water  deposits,  as,  according  to  a  common 
opinion,  by  a  progressive  rising  of  the  submarine  floor ;  for 
many  outlying  rocks,  known  from  ancient  times  by  distinct 

*  The  Moscow  uplands  are  given  at  460  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea  ; 
but  the  base  of  the  hills,  and  water-courses,  can  scarcely  amount  to  100 
feet,  notwithstanding  the  continuous  rising  of  the  upper  soil,  by  the 
deposits  from  above,  washed  down  by  rains  and  melting  snows.  In 
Poland,  the  canals  between  the  two  seas  require  only  from  ten  to  fifteen 
locks,  although  it  does  not  appear  that  careful  surveys  had  determined  the 
lowest  levels. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  127 

names,  and  sung  in  Runic  ballads,  for  being  the  basking  beds 
of  seals,  where  daring  hunters  acquired  celebrity  in  their  pur- 
suit, had  risen  above  water  beyond  the  reach  of  their  ancient 
amphibious  visitors;  parts  of  the  gulf,  which,  half  a  century 
before,  had  been  crossed  in  boats  by  the  French  academicians, 
were  converted  into  permanent  meadow  land  ;  and  more  minute 
research  disclosed,  at  a  distance  inland,  successive  lines  of 
beach,  each  provided  with  a  bed  of  shells  in  a  very  recent  state. 
From  these  the  sea  had  evidently  receded,  according  to  the 
changes  which  an  upheaving  motion  of  the  land,  proceeding 
from  the  north,  effected  on  the  levels;  and  correspondingly 
raised  beaches  have  since  been  observed  by  M.  Bravais,  on  the 
opposite  declivity  of  the  Lapland  system,  near  Hainerfest  and 
Cape  North,  which  show,  by  being  at  greater  elevations,  the 
acting  forces  to  be  most  powerful  on  the  Polar  side.  More 
than  a  century  passed  ;  with  a  view  of  settling  the  question  by 
positive  measurement,  copper  bolts  were  driven  in  several 
rocks  at  the  mean  sea  level,  and  subsequent  investigation  sub- 
stantiates that  the  rising  progress  is  greatest  in  the  north, 
oeing,  at  the  summit  of  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia,  at  the  rate  of  4£ 
feet  in  a  century,  decreasing  to  one  foot  at  Stockholm ;  and  on 
the  southern  or  German  shore  of  the  Baltic,  at  0,  or,  as  we 
think,  declining.^  This  supposition  is  countenanced  by  several 
submersions  in  the  southern  Baltic,  already  observed,  from  the 
year  830,  such  as  those  resulting  from  the  great  storm,  when 
the  island  of  Rugen  was  separated  from  the  German  shore,  and 
the  successive  marine  depressions  of  the  commercial  republics 
of  Winetha,  Arkona,  and  Jomsberg,  near  Wollin;  some  endur- 
ing to  the  twelfth  century,  when  their  ruin,  effected  by  the 

*  These  researches  date  from  the  year  1700,  when,  to  mark  the  true 
level,  copper  bolts  were  driven  in,  and  deep  grooves  were  cut  in  the  rocks. 
They  terminated  in  1S27,  the  observations  being  made  by  Davis,  Hellant, 
Cydenius,  Klingius,  Rudman,  &c.  Several  French  philosophers  have 
made  later  researches,  and  confirmed  the  progress.  See  Elie.  de  Beau- 
mont, Mem.  Acad,  des  Sciences  de  Paris. 


128  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

hand  of  man,  was  followed  by  submersion  beneath  the  n 

Continuous  denudations  of  the  sea-shore,  or  erosions  of  rivers, 
famished  the  amber  of  the  Baltic  from  very  early  age*  j  and 
the  check  of  that  trade  is  now  only  as  it  n  ry  of 

it  at  son,  but  not  inland.  A  prolonged  depression  on  this  coast 
alone  accounts  for  the  absence  of  deltas  al  the  mouths  of  the 
Vistula  and  the  Od<-r,  and  may  be  in  combination  with  the 
changes  of  surface,  which,  while  the  real  plane  of  declivity  of 
the  two  last  mentioned  rivers  became  greater  towards  the 
north,  did  not  affect  their  watershed, and  aided  in  throwing  tlie 
masses  of  the  Lagoon  Sea  down  the  western  Russian  rivers 
into  the  Euxine. 


WESTERN   EUROPE. 

The  whole  of  Northern  and  Western  Germany  is  low  and 
of  a  sandy  alluvial  soil,  which,  without  the  aid  of  cultivation 
and  human  care,  might  still  be  threatened  with  marine  inva- 
sion ;  and  Denmark,  in  its  oldest  poetical  aspect,  was  appar- 
ently less  intersected  by  creeks  and  water  channels  than  at 
present.  High  sand  hills  are  easily  formed  by  the  surf  and 
the  wind  ;  they  are  no  proof  of  antiquity,  still  less  of  dura- 
bility, from  the  fact  of  the  sand  bank,  eighty  feet  in  height,  near 
Dantzig,  being  broke  through  in  1543,  and  forming  a  new 
mouth  for  the  river,  during  an  unusually  high  flood  of  the 
inland  waters. 

Some  part  of  the  east  and  south  of  England  was  certainly 
connected  with  the  opposite  coast,  at  a  period  preceding  the 
change  of  direction  which  the  Rhine  received,  when,  turning 
from  its  ancient  bed  through  the  Cevennes,  a  channel  was 
formed  to  the  north,  and  the  waters  first  reached  the  sea  by 
the  volcanic  basin  of  Neuwied.  Western  Germany  seems 
then  to  have  been  indented  with  deep  bays,  estuaries,  and 
islands,  the  salt  water  reaching  above  Wezel,  on  the  Rhine, 
where   the   heaths   still   abound   in   sea-shells,    in   a   perfect 


TIIE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  129 

state.*  No  extensive  deposits,  brought  by  lengthened  water- 
courses, had  as  yet  formed  deltas ;  for,  while  the  great  volcanic 
craters  from  the  Vogesian  chain  to  Kloster  Laach,  in  the  basin 
of  Neuwied  ;  of  the  Pulvermar,  near  Gillenfeld,  in  the  Eifel, 
&c,  were  in  activity,  the  Rhine  had  not  broken  through  in  a 
northern  direction;  and  the  event  may  be  regarded  as  a  conse- 
quence of  the  igneous  exhaustion  of  that  region  producing  a 
considerable  change  in  the  levels.  The  same  law  which 
altered  successively  the  courses  of  the  Oxus  and  the  Jaxartes 
towards  the  north,  may  have  operated  in  a  similar  maimer  on 
the  Rhine,  &  ise,  I  Sch*  1  It.  But  th —  Important  altera- 
tions in  N\  1 1  nnany  and  Gaul  were  effected,  and  their 
consequences  were  no  doubt  considerably  advanced,  before 
man  was  present  in  Europe;  yet  comparatively  recent  the 
period  may  be  deemed,  since  at  Arend  See,  in  Brandenburgh, 
a  lake  of  about  sixteen  square  miles'  surface,  apparently  pro- 
duced by  subterraneous  percolation,  which  causes  the  earth  to 
sink  vertically,  in  stages  each  of  about  forty  feet  perpendicular, 
offered  a  further  instance  of  this  phenomenon  so  late  as  16G0. 
It  is  one  of  the  same  class  as  that  subsidence  of  the  earth, 
which  occurred  in  1806,  near  the  delta  of  the  Indus. 

With  the  prolongation  and  change  of  direction  in  the  course 
of  the  rivers  in  Western  Germany,  the  weight  of  waters,  or  a 
contemporaneous  percussion,  may  have  shaken  the  chalky  and 
alluvial  shores,  converting  Britain  from  a  peninsula  into  an 
island,  and  forming  the  Channel  and  Dover  straits.  Waters 
which,  until  that  period,  covered  the  drainage  of  the  Elbe,  the 
Weser,  and  the  Ems,  &cc,  more  anciently  communicating,  but 
imperfectly,  with  the  Gallic  Sea,  (perhaps  at  high  water  only, 
through  the  Belgian  low  lands,  behind  the  chalk  cliffs  of  the 
coast  to  the  Liane,  south  of  Boulogne,)  suddenly  forming  a 

*  We  have  picked  up  oa  the  German  side  of  the  Rhine,  near  Wezel, 
6everal  univalves,  and  a  pinna,  with  the  hinge  ending  in  a  very  acute 
point.     These  were  found  on  the  line  of  the  new  chaussce. 


130  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

vast  current  by  means  of  the  new  efflux  of  the  Rhine,  would 
give  such  force  to  the  ebb  tide,  (now  first  beginning-  to  meet 
the  flowing  wave  in  the  channel,)  that  a  new  aspect  would  be 
given  to  all  the  shores,  even  far  up  the  east  coast  of  Britain. 
Heligoland,  a  friable  conglomerate,  became  an  island  at  no 
very  remote  period.  So  late  as  the  ninth  century  of  our  era,  it 
was  still  forty  times  the  present  area ;  in  1300,  twelve  times 
the  surface ;  but  woods,  rivulets,  pagan  temples,  monasteries, 
parishes,  and  castles,  have  been  swallowed  up,  and  the  portion 
still  above  water  gradually  crumbles  away.  When  the  Cym- 
bers  penetrated  into  Italy,  they  had  recently  been  dislodged  by 
great  encroachments  of  the  sea  on  their  native  shores,  which 
were  in  the  low  lands  of  the  above-named  rivers,  on  the  north 
of  the  kindred  tribes  of  Friesland,  who  were  repeatedly  suf- 
ferers from  the  same  cause,  down  to  recent  times.  Thus,  on 
the  river  Unsing,  which,  in  the  Roman  era,  reached  the  sea  by 
a  direct  course,  and  later  by  the  Ems,  there  is  noticed  the 
Portus  Manarmanis ;  and  higher  up  the  bank,  a  place  named 
Siatulanda,  both  localities  being  now  lost  in  the  waters  of  the 
Dollaert.^ 


THE  RHINE. 

The  whole  delta  of  the  Rhine,  by  the  many  changes  that 
have  occurred  in  its  several  arms  within  the  historical  period, 
through  West  Friesland,  Holland,  and  Zealand,  proves  the 
unconsolidated  condition  of  the  deposits;  and  the  depth  of 
alluvial  was  shown  at  Amsterdam,  in  1604,  when  a  well  was 
sunk,  in  an  abortive  attempt  to  obtain  pure  fresh  water,  the 

*  If  the  convulsion,  which  certainly  took  place,  belonged  to  so  remote  a 
period  as  a  former  order  of  creation,  the  final  effect  would  have  terminated 
long  before  our  historical  era.  It  is  more  likely  to  synchronize  with  the 
changes  in  the  Polish  and  Russian  inland  seas,  when  a  very  considerable 
alteration  must  ha  'e  resulted  in  the  currents  and  tides  on  the  west  coasts 
of  Europe. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  131 

workmen  finding  sea-shells  and  animal  hair  to  the  depth  of 
132  feet.1*  The  lake  Flevo,  known  to  the  Romans,  was 
evidently  not  then  ancient,  since  a  great  portion  of  West 
Friesland,  on  its  banks,  sunk  down  and  formed  the  present 
Zuyder  Zee,  leaving  of  the  coast  only  a  chain  of  islands.  The 
canal  of  Drusus,  now  denominated  the  Yssel,  is  a  further 
instance  of  the  tendency  of  rivers  to  flow  northwards ;  for  this 
additional  outlet  of  the  Rhine  was  a  proximate  cause  in  the 
formation  of  the  Zuyder  Zee,  by  breaking  through  the  coast 
more  to  the  north  than  the  ancient  channel,  which  was  a  river 
then  known  by  the  name  of  Flevus,  whose  waters  were  dis- 
charged close  to  the  present  Flie  island.  Another  great  sub- 
mersion in  the  south-east  of  Holland,  was  felt  at  the  Biesbosch, 
near  Gertruydenberg,  in  1421,  when  the  waters  of  the  Meuse 
and  Waal,  suddenly  overwhelming  seventy-two  villages,  100,- 
000  human  beings  were  lost ;  but  the  subsoil  must  have  sunk 
at  the  same  time,  since  the  whole  region  has  remained  beneath 
the  surface,  and  is  now  overgrown  with  huge  reeds. 

The  principal  mouth  of  the  Rhine,  during  the  Roman  sway, 
is  all  but  obliterated,  excepting  in  name,  and  the  whole  coast 
of  Holland  has  much  receded  from  its  earlier  tide-mark;  for, 
at  the  spot  where  the  Rhine  mouth  entered  the  sea,  there  stood 
a  fortress,  by  some  ascribed  to  Drusus,  by  others  to  Claudius, 
intended  to  guard  the  entrance.  The  whole  plan  of  this  struc- 
ture, with  walls  of  hewn  stone,  still  three  feet  high  when  it 
was  last  seen,  is  now  buried  under  the  waves,  and  more  than 
a  mile  from  the  present  shore.!  Coins  of  Postumus,  Victo- 
rinus,  and  Tetricus,  with  others,  resembling  early  Anglo-Saxon 

*  See  Des  Roche's  Hist,  des  Pays  Bas.,  vol.  i.  A  learned  and  exceed- 
ingly curious  work,  which  the  untimely  death  of  the  author  has  left  unfin- 
ished. The  Ganges  ofTers  a  similar  result,  for,  on  sinking  an  Artesian 
well  at  Fort  William,  Calcutta,  bones  of  cauidce  were  brought  up  from 
the  depth  of  150  feet. 

t  This  place  is  known  by  the  name  of  Huis-ten  Britten.  Here  several 
alto-relievo  figures  of  the  goddess  Nehalennia,  and  many  coins,  have  beea 


132  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

Skeatta,  indicate  that  the  fortress  was  garrisoned,  and,  there- 
fore, that  the  river  was  still  navigable  after  the  Roman 
departure  from  Britain.  Further  west  is  the  Roompot  estuary, 
where  another  Roman  fastness  is  supposed  to  have  existed  on 
the  sand  bank  facing  Ter  Veer,  in  the  East  Scheldt;  and 
Romerswal,  another  fortress  of  the  same  people,  was  also  a 
small  town  on  a  bank  in  the  West  Scheldt,  opposite  Bergen- 
op-Zoom,  where  we  have  seen  remains  of  brick  walls,  covered 
with  sea-weed  and  muscles.  So  late  as  1606,  the  -Hock  of 
Holland,  Goeree,  and  other  parts  of  the  coast,  were  invaded 
and  swept  away;  and,  at  this  day,  West  Capelle,  in  Walche- 
ren,  after  similar  devastations,  is  defended  by  rows  of  piles, 
which  occur  again  at  Blankenberg,  and  even  at  Ostend. 

It  was  here,  amidst  the  multitude  of  low  woody  islands, 
formed  by  the  confluence  of  the  Scheldt,  Dender,  Lys,  Nethe, 
and  Meuse,  called  the  Paludes  Morinorum,  that  places  of 
safety  existed,  whither  the  inhabitants  retreated  out  of  the 
reach  of  Caesar's  legions.  In  the  middle  ages,  all  this  region 
was  still  encumbered  with  swamps  and  water  channels,  which 
extended  up  to  St.  Omers  or  Sethon,*  communicated  with  the 
sea  at  Calais  and  Dunkirk,  until  the  emperor  Otho,  about  the 
year  9S0,  caused  a  canal  to  be  dug  from  the  Scheldt  to  the 
Hondt,  which  gradually  drained  the  upland,  and  now  consti- 
tutes the  Western  Scheldt.  Persevering  cultivation,  sus- 
tained by  manufacturing  riches,  alone  succeeded  to  rescue  the 
drowned  soil,  and  make  it  one  of  the  most  fertile  portions  of 
Europe.  The  old  mouth,  now  the  Swyn,  between  Sluys  and 
Cadsandria,  passed  through  a  vast  pool,  where  the  largest 
ships  and  fleets  could  assemble ;   and  the  Swyn  mouth  was 

found  during  very  low  tides.  The  ruins  have  not  been  seen  above  water 
during  the  last  hundred  years. 

*Sethon,  Portus  St.  Aumeri,  now  St.  Omers,  was  still  a  seaport;  that 
is,  had  a  channel  opening  to  the  sea,  in  1156,  as  appears  by  a  charter  of 
Louis  VII.  Compare  Caesar  de  B.  G.,  lib.  iv.,  with  St.  Paulin  Epist. 
ad  Victru,  who  wrote  in  the  fourth  century. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  133 

still  so  broad  in  latter  ages  that  both  the  fleets  of  King  John 
and  of  Edward  III.  succeeded  in  attacking  and  destroying  their 
enemies  within  the  port ;  but  in  time  that  harbor  became 
marshy,  and  then  meadow  land.  On  the  side  of  the  Western 
Scheldt,  however,  the  land  diminished,  and  between  1377  and 
1477,  upwards  of  forty  villages  were  submerged,  chiefly  about 
Biervliet.  On  the  coast,  the  village  of  Scharphout  was  swept 
away,  in  1334,  to  the  sands  where  now  Blankenberg  is  built ; 
and  Terstreep,  near  Ostend,  shared  the  same  fate.  In  no  part 
of  this  vast  space  of  alluvial  deposit  have  fossil  remains  of 
Pachyderms  been  observed.  In  the  Rhine  alone  and  about 
the  shores  of  that  river,  bones  of  two  species  of  Bos  and  of 
Cervus  giganleus,  or  Irish  Elk,  were  noticed,  and  one  or  two 
Saurians,  referred  to  Crocodile,  have  been  detected  in  Upper 
Flanders. 


GREAT   BRITAIN. 

If  we  now  turn  to  the  British  Islands,  we  find  the  whole 
east  coast  of  England  marked  by  devastation  and  marine 
encroachment.  From  Cromer,  where  the  village  of  Shipden 
was  lost  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry  IV.,  though  it  is  said  the 
ruins  are  still  discernible  at  very  low  tides,  about  half  a  mile 
distant  from  the  shore,  and  thence  by  Yarmouth  and  Harwich 
to  Reculver  in  the  estuary  of  the  Thames,  the  work  of  erosion 
is  everywhere  conspicuous,  and  still  proceeding.  The  soil  is 
evidently  older  than  the  alluvial  of  the  German  rivers,  for 
debris  of  Proboscidians,  of  Saurians,  and  Tortoises,  are  not 
unfrequently  found  imbedded  in  it.  At  Dagenham,  in  Essex, 
as  mentioned  in  the  Phil.  Transactions,  the  Thames  bank  wall 
having  given  way,  the  soil  washed  down,  in  some  places,  to 
twenty  feet  in  depth,  when  "  many  large  trees  became  exposed 
to  sight,  oaks,  alders,  and  hornbeams,  one  of  which  bore 
'  marks  of  the  axe,  and  the  head  was  lopped  off.'  "  There  is  no 
reason  for  rejecting  the  tradition  concerning  the  Goodwin 
12 


134  NATURAL    HISTORY   OF 

Sands;  and  the  disappearance  of  the  island  was  a  natural  con- 
sequence of  the  tides  acting  upon  its  low  shores,  from  the  time 
the  Straits  of  Dover  were  opened,  and  the  calamity  an  imme- 
diate result  of  neglecting  to  defend  the  banks  by  artificial 
means.  The  same  force  which  swept  away  the  town  of  Win- 
chelsea,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  I.,  had  long  before  destroyed 
the  Portus  Iccius  on  the  opposite  coast,  and  commenced  the 
gradual  denudation  of  the  rocky  basis  of  the  Channel  Islands, 
where  a  tax  is  still  levied  and  applied  to  arrest  the  further 
encroachments  of  the  sea. 

If  tradition  could  be  trusted,  the  present  channel  within  the 
Isle  of  Wight,  was,  in  earlier  ages,  sufficiently  shallow  to  be 
forded  at  very  low  tides,  where  now  line  of  battle  ships  pass  in 
safety;  but  this  result  is  applicable  to  the  whole  British  Chan- 
nel, while  Poole  harbor  is  filled  up  by  the  deposits  of  slack 
water.  There  is  a  marked  character  in  the  long  succession  of 
landslips  and  "founders"  in  the  vicinity  of  Lyme  Kegis  and 
Azminster,  resulting  indeed  from  percolation  to  certain  under- 
lying strata,  but,  most  assuredly,  in  connection  with  a  progres- 
sive erosion  of  the  floor  of  the  channel.*  On  the  coasts  of 
Devon  and  Cornwall,  numerous  marks  of  ancient  sea  beaches, 
hove  up  far  beyond  the  present  levels,  indicate  similar  press- 
ures and  slidings  of  superincumbent  strata,  forcing  the  beach 
to  rise  up  in  the  same  manner  as  occurred  near  Axminster. 
St.  Michael's  Mount,  however,  is  now  almost  severed  from 
Cornwall;  and  the  invasion  of  the  sea  is  still  attested  by  the 
remains  of  forest  trees,  sunk  beneath  the  waters. 

Beyond  the  Land's  End,  the  Scilly  Islands,  now  forming  a 
cluster  of  rocks,  were  almost  wholly  united  when  first  they 
became  historically  known,  under  the  name  of  Cassiterides. 
In  the  Irish  Channel,  submersions,  perhaps  even  greater  than 

*If  similar  events  in  other  countries  were  carefully  recorded,  they 
would  be  found  surprisingly  numerous.  Balbi,  and  Mr.  G.  Roberts,  in 
his  account  of  the  Dowland  and  Bindon  landslip  of  1339,  enumerate  a  great 
variety  of  them. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  135 

in  any  other  part  of  England,  appear  to  have  occurred,  and 
phenomena  on  shore  are  equally  surprising.  A  part  of  the 
bed  of  the  Severn  is  stated  to  have  risen,  in  1773,  to  the  height 
of  thirty  feet,  the  back  water  immediately  forming  a  lake, 
which  was  drained  by  cutting  a  new  channel.  According  to 
Camden,  and  Bishop  Hakewell's  Apology,  at  the  time  of  the 
Norman  Conquest,  part  of  Pembroke  formed  a  promontory, 
extending  towards  Ireland;  but  the  space  was  already  sunken 
beneath  deep  sands,  in  the  time  of  Henry  II.,  when  a  violent 
storm  so  far  uncovered  the  original  surface,  that  many  stumps 
of  trees  appeared  fixed  in  the  earth,  "and  the  strokes  of  the 
axe  upon  them  quite  fresh." 

In  the  Welsh  Triads,  Orkney,  the  Isle  of  Man,  and  the  Isle 
of  Wight,  are  styled  the  three  adjacent  islands  of  Britain ;  and 
they  proceed  to  mention  the  subsequent  separation  of  Anglesea 
from  the  main  land.  Nennius  similarly  alludes  to  the  three 
adjacent  islands;  yet,  since  that  period,  Orkney  became  divided 
into  several  parts  ;  and  it  is  evident  that  other  portions  of 
Wales  and  Western  Scotland  likewise  became  insulated.  So 
many  important  changes,  particularly  in  the  British  Channel, 
imply  the  agency  of  forces  which  were  not  in  activity  at  very 
remote  periods;  for,  had  they  been  of  primeval  date,  their 
operation  would  have  effected  the  whole  of  the  changes  they 
necessitated  long  before  the  dates  here  mentioned. 

SOUTHERN   EUROPE. 

Returning  to  the  west  coast  of  France,  we  find  the  important 
invasion  of  the  sea,  which  in  the  eighth  century  destroyed  a 
great  space  of  poor  and  forest  land,  separating  Mont  St. 
Michael  from  the  main  shore;*  and  in  the  Bay  of  Biscay, 

♦There  is  an  earlier  great  event  of  this  kind  recorded  in  history,  in  the 
reign  of  Gallienus,  when  one  or  two  Romano-Celtic  cities,  in  Armorica 
or  Bretagne,  were  destroyed.  That  in  the  reign  of  Charlemagne  was 
equally  destructive  on  the  coasts  of  France  and  in  the  Baltic. 


130  N  Al  i  B  \L   BI8T0BI    01 

the  currents  and  mods  continuing  the  encroachment  on  the 
coast,  they  have  in  tome  places  advanced  two  .  ;iiina 

century. 

But  the  Spani-h  peninsula,  forming  a  plateau   the  mo  I 

rated  of  Europe,  nn.ro  than  l'OOO  feet  ahove  the  ocean,  without 
an  existing  volcanic  crater  on  its  surface,  is  nevertheless  sub- 
ject   to  \i  particularly  on  the  side  of  the 

Atlantic.     Geologically,  as    i  ossiferous   breccias,   the 

south  point  of  the  peninsula  reproduo  I  ratifi- 

cation which  occurs  ahout  Genoa,  and  is  n  peati  d  in  the  islands 

on  the  coast  of  Dalmatia.     They  have  all  compressed,  bet 
beds  of  limestone,  innumerable  remains  of  mammals,  held  in  a 
matrix  much  harder  than  the  bones  themselves.     In  zoolo 
affinity,  Spain  ami  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
terranean  islands   boar  an  African  rather  than  an  Eur^ 

I  :  and   the  similarity  was   much   mi  t  in  early 

times.      Spain,  having  no  deltas,  with  only  B  ils  formed 

by  the  Tagus,  Ebro,  and  Llobrega,  is  surrounded  on  three 
sides  by  very  deep  seas,  close  up  to  the  shore. 

Further  eastward,  within  the  Mediterranean,  the  coast  of 
France  presents  a  totally  different  aspect ;  for  the  whole  extent 
of  the  shores,  with  little  exception,  is  low,  belted  on  the  sea- 
side by  a  shingly  beach,  some  hundred  yards  in  breadth,  and 
having  behind  it  salt  water  lagoons  a  mile  or  more  in  diameter, 
but  only  a  few  feet  deep.  This  breakwater  of  shingle  extends 
to  near  Aigues  Mortes,  and  the  delta  of  the  Rhone;  for  that 
river  has  evidently  supplied  the  materials  for  it.  At  some 
distance,  facing  the  Mediterranean,  a  chain  of  lofty  hills  con- 
tains lavas  and  extinct  craters,  particularly  about  Nismes  and 
Montpellier,  and  again  in  the  department  of  the  Aude,  where 
fossiliferous  caverns  exist,  which  will  be  noticed  in  the  sequel. 
The  hills  trend  on  one  side  towards  the  eastern  Pyrenees,  and 
on  the  other,  ascending  the  river  course  of  the  Rhone,  become 
connected  with  the  Alps  ;  and,  assuming  the  name  of  Vogesians, 
display  basaltic  formations  and  craters,  that  connect  them  with 


THE    HUMAN    BPBGIBS.  137 

the  basin  of  Xeuwied.     The  delta  of  the  last-named  river  is 
of  considerable  size,  with  a  gradual  but  slow  progress  in  the 
sea;  it  having  been  demonstrated,  by  measuring  the  distance 
between  the  fossa  Marians  and  the  sea,  that  from  the  til 
Marina  to  the  present,  a  period  of  near  ars,  only  about 

1000  yards  have  been  added  to  the  shore. 

HALT. 

1'  -sing,  for  the  present,  the  Alpine  system  without  notice* 
we  arrive  ;it  the  Italian  peninsula,  reposing,  in  its  wl. 
upon  an  ignited  gallery,  in  perpetual  activity,  and  producing  a 
sea  more  fathomable  than  the  abysses  of  the  Gulf  of  Lyon 

offing.  On  the  Tyrhenian  coast,  the  changes 
most  readily  ascertained  occur  at  the  port  and  city  of  Pisa, 
which  were  originally  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Arno, 
when  re  now  above  lour  miles  inland  ;    and  the  Au-ar 

streamlet,  which,  according  to  Strabo,  fell  into  the  river  close 
to  the  town,  now  terminates  ten  miles  distant.  The  rolcanic 
soil,  alike  fertile  and  deleterious  in  the  maremmas,  is  in  some 
places  unstable,  so  that,  even  since  the  fall  of  the  Ri 
empire,  certain  spots  about  Bais  have  been  sunk  below  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  again  raised  up  above  it,  without  entirely 
overturning  columns,  such  as  those  of  the  temple  of  Serapis, 
all  of  which,  at  a  certain  elevation  above  their  base,  have  been 
subjected  to  the  boring  of  Lithodomi,  while  other  parts  of 
the  ancient  city,  an  1  a  paved  road,  are  seen  beneath  the  waters. 
The   whole  length  of  Italy  exhibits  craters,  lakes  simmering, 

*  Reniarknl.lc,  however,  f"r  land  slips,  anciently  more  numerous  and 
extensive  than  at  present.  In  the  Alps,  fragments  of  Roman  roads,  with 
arched  gateways,  occur  among  elevated  precipices.  Hannibal  encoun- 
tered a  subsidence  of  the  road  on  his  passage.  Those  of  Mont  Grenier, 
Diablerats,  Mont  Chede,  and  particularly  of  the  Rossberg,  in  1806,  are 
well  known  ;  and  that  of  Cernaus,  hetween  Dijon  and  Pontarlier,  in  the 
Jura,  where  the  high  road  sank  300  feet,  in  1839,  is  the  last  of  irnport- 
auco. 

1U- 


138  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

volcanic  pits,  crevices  emitting  sulphurous  vapors,  till  we  reach 
the  kingdom  and  Bea  of  the  two  Sicilies,  \vh'  re  a  vast  coneen- 
tration  of  volcanic  fire  permanently  discharges  from  below 
smoke,  gaseous  vapors,  flame  ,  and  lavas,  by  the  craters  of 
iEtna,  Vesuvius,  and  Stromboli.  Thucydid  S  :a,  Strabo, 
Pausanlas,  Pliny,  and  others,  mention  numerous  earthquakes  in 
Italy,  where  mountains  were  split,  cities  were  overturned,  and 
volcanic  islands  rose  and  again  subsided.  Since  the  Vesuviau 
eruption,  recorded  by  Pliny  the  Younger,  no  calamity  more 
appalling  appears  on  record  than  that  which  took  place  in 
153S,  when,  in  a  few  hours,  Monte  Nuovo,  a  flaming  moun- 
tain of  four  miles  in  circumference,  rose  out  of  the  earth, 
destroying  the  village  of  Tripergola,  obliterating  the  Lucrine 
Lake,  and  caused  the  ruin  of  the  countrv  to  six  miles  around 
it;  unless  one  greater  still  occurred,  when  Messina  in  Sicily, 
and  many  towns  of  Calabria,  were  destroyd  in  17S6. 

No  author  states  at  what  period,  and  to  what  extent,  vol- 
canic convulsion  changed  the  surface  of  Eastern  Italy,  and 
separated  Calabria  from  Sicily,  by  a  disrupture  now  denom- 
inated the  Straits  of  Messina.  The  event  can  only  be  sur- 
mised by  approximation;  for,  although  the  catastrophe  confess- 
edly took  place  before  written  historical  record,  it  was  not  so 
remote  as  to  have  obliterated  the  terror  impressed  upon  the 
memories  of  subsequent  generations  living  in  the  vicinity,  or 
to  have  worn  away  the  dangerous  impediments  of  Scylla  and 
Charybdis,  which  intervened  at  the  most  adjacent  point  for 
crossing  from  one  coast  to  the  other,  and  probably  not  long 
before  the  foundations  of  Zancle  (now  Messina)  were  laid. 
The  event  may  synchronize  with  the  close  of  that  transition 
era  of  convulsive  phenomena  which  includes  the  bursting  of 
the  Thracian  Bosphorus  at  the  volcanic  Cyanean  islands  ;  the 
Greek  deluges ;  the  separation  of  Eubcea  from  Attica  ;  and  the 
passage  of  a  large  diluvian  wave  across  the  isthmus  of  Corinth, 
which  has  left  indelible  marks  on  all  the  coasts  in  the  vicinity, 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  139 

and  was  particularly  recorded  at  Dodona.*  They  were  the 
necessary  precursors  of  the  first  swarming  of  the  tribes  that 
came  down  the  Hellespont,  and  commenced  the  heroic  age  of 
Greece  and  Italy. 

In  the  Adriatic,  at  the  summit  of  the  gulf,  we  find  Adria,  or 
Hadria,  said  to  have  been  built  on  the  sea-shore,  by  Tarchon, 
leader  of  the  antique  Etruscan  people,  about  the  time  of  the 
Trojan  war.  The  present  town,  standing  upon  the  rubbish  of 
two  others,  is  now  fifteen  and  a  half  miles  distant  from  the 
nearest  mouth  of  the  river  Tartarus,  which  is  still  six  miles 
within  the  farthest  point  of  land  projecting  in  the  sea.t  It  is 
only  of  late  years  that,  in  making  excavations  at  the  depth  of 
several  feet  below  the  present  surface  of  the  town,  a  former 
level  was  found,  with  numerous  fragments  of  Etruscan  and 
Roman  pottery  ;  and,  at  a  still  greater  depth,  a  second  floor, 
where  all  the  earthen-ware  fragments  proved  to  be  Etruscan 
alone,  and  there  were  vestiges  of  a  theatre  !  In  these  facts, 
both  the  raising  of  the  soil  and  progress  of  alluvial  deposits  are 
demonstrated  in  waters  but  little  disturbed  by  marine  currents, 
and  during  a  space  of  3000  years. 

THE  EGEAN. 

In  the  Egean,  volcanic  disturbances  have  been  and  still  are 
exceedingly  numerous  and  destructive.  From  the  remotest 
periods  recorded,  islands  have  risen  up  from  the  sea ;  such  as 
volcanic  Delos,  overhung  with  vapors  to  the  present  time ;  or 
torn  from  the  continent  of  Asia,  like  Samos,  with  its  ancient 
organic  remains  of  Neiades,  and  craters,  one  of  which  com- 
menced latterly  to  furnish  a  rivulet  running  to  the  sea ;   and 

*  Scholiast  upon  the  ICth  Iliad,  v.  233,  quoting  Thrasyhulus,  an  ancient 
author,  and  other  comments. 

tNow  Podi  Levante,  and  most  likely  the  oldest  hed  of  the  Padus  or 
Po?  The  lowest  stratum  of  ruins  was  at  the  depth  of  more  than  twenty 
fcet. 


140  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

other  island?,  within  these  few  years,  have  heen  visited  by 
earthquakes  of  the  most  calamitous  violence.  Through  the 
Cyclades  there  came,  in  remote  antiquity,  a  sea  wave,  raised  up 
by  some  volcanic  convulsion,  which  desolated  Greece,  and  is 
recorded  as  one  of  the  deluges ;  while  other  percm 
opened  the  passage  already  mentioned,  for  lowering  the  surface 
of  the  Euxine  into  the  Propontis,  and  thence  to  the  Egean ;  an 
event  commemorated  in  Samothrace,  when  that  island  most 
1  lively  was  separated  from  the  main  coast.*  It  was  then 
the  Cimmerian  Chersonesus,  from  a  rocky  island,  became  a 
great  peninsula,  and  Phanagoria  of  the  Moeotis  began  to 
exhibit  the  cones  of  deposit  from  which  mud  is  ejected  to  the 
present  time.  The  Euxine,  Caspian,  and  Mediterranean,  have 
shoal  water  and  islands  almost  exclusively  on  the  north,  and. 
the  deepest  sea  on  the  south  ;  but  the  Euxine  alone  witnesses 
percussions,  which  still  continue  to  elevate  the  highlands  of 
the  Crimea.  From  the  year  of  the  death  of  Mithridates  to  the 
present  period,  many  severe  earthquakes  have  shaken  the 
promontories  of  the  coast,  and  caused  destructive  avalanches. 
At  Sevastopol,  the  ancient  Sinus  Portuosus  of  Mela,  iron  rings, 
originally  fixed  in  the  rocks,  probably  by  the  Genoese,  to 
secure  vessels,  in  natural  docks,  close  to  the  shore,  are  now 
risen  so  high  above  ground  as  to  be  no  longer  available  for 
that  purpose ;  and,  in  the  autumn  of  1S44,  a  sudden  heaving 
of  a  volcanic  disturbance  caused  the  sea  to  recede  from  the 
whole  line  of  the  northern  coast,  leaving  all  the  vessels  then 
close  in  shore  stranded. 

In  the  Caspian,  Baku,  like  Derbent,  had  its  walls  partly 
thrown  down  by  the  sea,  in  17S4;  yet  now  it  stands  a  quarter 

*  The  effects  of  this  sea  wave  are  clearly  marked  on  the  east  coast  of 
Attica  and  Peloponnesus.  It  hroke  across  the  isthmus,  and  left  marks 
of  its  violence  in  the  Saronic  and  Corinthian  gulfs.  Traditional  recollec- 
tions of  these  enormous  catastrophes  are  depicted  in  the  language- of  St. 
John — "And  every  island  fled  away,  and  the  mountains  were  not 
found."    Rev.  xvi.  20.     Patmos  was  in  the  direct  line  of  this  convulsion. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIE3.  141 

of  a  mile  frcm  the  water's  edge.  The  level  varies  occasionally 
six  or  seven  feet ;  and  small  volcanic  cones  still  break  forth  on 
its  shores.  In  the  lake,  or  rather  bay  of  Ensili,  three  new 
islands  have  appeared  since  1811,  already  showing  several 
willows  upon  them ;  and  the  back  water  of  the  Gemishawas  is 
become  fordable,  though,  until  recently,  it  was  not  to  be  trav- 
ersed, the  river  waters  having  sensibly  diminished.  The  Cas- 
pian is  the  Deryah  Kolsum  of  the  Arabs,  because  it  is  covered 
with  a  mist  ever  han2rin£  on  the  water. 


ASIA  MINOR. 

Asia  Minor  appears  subjected  to  the  action  of  at  least  two 
subterranean  volcanic  galleries,  which,  in  connection  with  the 
Italian  system  of  ignitions,  passing  beneath  the  Egean,  are  the 
agents  of  convulsion  in  that  sea;  and  in  Greece  and  Thessaly, 
produce  those  mephitic  localities,  inflammable  rivers,  and 
gaseous  exhalations,  which  were  used  in  mythological  doctrines 
and  in  the  prophetic  impositions  of  the  Delphic  oracle. 

Others,  of  at  least  equal  antiquity,  existed  on  the  Asiatic 
side;  and  although  no  conspicuous  volcanic  crater  is  pointed 
out  in  the  peninsula,  excepting  at  the  present  Dopos  Kalesi, 
and  at  Koolah  in  Catacecaumene,  where  the  lava  district 
reveals  volcanic  agency,  apparently  not  long  dormant.  There 
is,  also,  at  the  extremity  of  the  Bosphorus,  where  the  Cyanean 
craters  are  submerged,  a  recent  lava  formation,  particularly 
conspicuous  on  the  Asiatic  shore. 

No  region  has  been  more  constantly  disturbed  by  earth- 
quakes than  this  high  peninsula,  from  the  earliest  period  to  the 
present;  but  perhaps  most  so  during  the  Roman  sway,  when, 
in  the  reign  of  Tiberius,  fourteen,  and  in  that  of  Julian  not  less 
than  one  hundred  and  fifty  cities  were  destroyed  in  one  con- 
vulsion. 


142  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 


BASIN   OF   THE   DEAD   SEA. 

Tiif.se  convulsions  of  the  surface  are  external  signs  of  the 
gallery  that  passes  westward ;  but  there  is  a  second,  which 
turns  from  beneath  Taurus,  south  of  Syria  and  Palestine,  pro- 
ducing, in  the  valley  of  Jordan,  the  celebrated  Dead  Sea,  or 
Asphaltic  Lake,  regarded  as  the  deepest  basin,  beneath  the 
level  of  the  sea,  in  the  known  world,  the  surface  of  the  water 
being  far  below  that  of  the  Caspian.  No  exact  measurement 
of  this  depression  of  the  soil  is,  as  yet,  rigidly  determined, 
because  the  instruments  employed  for  the  purpose,  —  the  mer- 
cury rising  to  the  summit  of  the  tube,  —  have  always  failed,  by 
the  excess  of  their  indications,  to  offer  a  trustworthy  basis  for 
calculation.  Russeger,  the  last  scientific  traveller,  being  simi- 
larly disappointed,  gives,  from  other  calculations,  the  surface 
of  the  lake,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Jordan,  as  1319  French  feet 
below  the  Mediterranean ;  Jerusalem,  by  measurement,  as  2479 
feet  above  it ;  and  yet  no  traveller  remarks,  that  if  these  state- 
ments be  nearly  correct,  the  ridge  behind,  or  west  of  Jerusalem, 
being  in  sight  from  the  lake,  would  be  more  that  4000  English 
feet  higher  and  loftier  than  any  mountain  in  Great  Britain ;  * 
nor  is  there  any  notice  taken  of  the  levels  of  the  lake,  as  com- 
pared with  the  Gulf  of  Akkaba,  —  which  is  nearly  on  the  same 
level  as  the  Mediterranean,  —  and  the  elevation  of  the  ridge 
which  parts  the  Dead  Sea  from  Wady  Moosa.  Already, 
before  the  era  of  Abraham,  it  is  evident,  by  the  notice  of  slime 
pits  (naphtha)  in  the  plain  of  Gomorrah,  that  volcanic  action 
was  kindled ;  and  when  the  surface  subsided  into  the  Asphal- 

*  According  to  measurements  of  British  naval  officers,  taken  after  the 
cat  ture  of  Acre,  in  1S39,  it  appears  —  by  lines  of  altitude,  carried  from 
the  Mediterranean  to  the  Dead  Sea,  &c.  —  that  the  Lake  of  Tiberias  was 
84  English  feet  below  the  Mediterranean  ;  the  Arabah  al  Kadesh  91  feet ; 
the  Dead  Sea,  1337  ;  whence  it  is  plain  no  region  of  equal  extent,  on  the 
earth,  presents  phenomena  of  such  great  difference  ;  for  the  culminating 
point  of  Libanus  rises,  at  Mount  Hermon,  to  10,000  feet. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  143 

tic  Basin,  the  ridge  in  Wady  Moosa  was  elevated,  and  the  Jor- 
dan, already  insufficient  to  compensate  for  the  evaporation, 
could  no  longer  flow  to  the  Red  Sea.  There  is,  at  least,  a 
certain  affinity  with  Africa,  in  this  region,  supported  by  a  pro- 
portion of  the  local  botany,  and  by  the  fish  of  the  Lake  of 
Tiberias.  The  volcanic  flues,  branching  off,  pass  through 
Arabia,  to  Aden,  and  beneath  the  Red  Sea ;  and  another,  more 
due  west,  communicates  with  Northern  Africa,  beyond  the 
Egyptian  boundary,  far  into  the  interior. 

From  Palestine  and  Syria,  eastward,  to  the  Indus,  there  are 
only  three  rivers  of  importance  that  reach  the  sea.  They  al 
unite  into  one  channel,  and  although  they  drain  an  immense 
surface,  generally  arid  and  sandy,  and  the  Tigris,  in  particular 
is  swift,  they  have  no  period  of  inundation  like  the  Nile,  but 
simply  freshes  in  the  spring ;  and  albeit  they  terminate  at  the 
head  of  an  enclosed  gulf,  they  have  not  formed  an  extensive 
delta.  The  high  table  land  of  Persia  is  estimated  at  little  less 
than  4000  feet  above  the  sea,  a  most  arid  desert,  but  with  rivers 
from  the  north-eastward  forming  the  fertile  valley  of  the  Hel- 
mund,  and  terminating  in  Lake  Aria  or  Zurra,  anciently  much 
more  extensive  than  the  present,  having  ruins  of  vast  cities  in 
the  vicinity,  unknown  in  history,  and  of  the  remotest  period; 
the  cradle  where  Iranian  power  was  nursed.  From  the  social 
systems  first  evolved  on  the  Oxus  and  the  Helmund,  and 
thence  carried  to  the  Tigris,  Euphrates,  and  Choaspes,  when 
combined  with  those  of  Egypt  and  Palestine,  the  present  relig- 
ious, moral,  and  scientific  state  of  the  world  is  almost  entirely 
drawn.  The  fundamental  principles  relating  to  the  highest 
good,  and  the  maxims  of  the  greatest  evil,  emanated  from 
Western  Asia,  wherein  the  ancients  used  to  comprehend  the 
Nile,  as  far  up  the  course  of  the  river  as  the  Nubian  frontier. 


144  NATUKAL   HISTORY    OF 


CURRENTS   OF  THE  MEDITERRANEAN. 

But  the  isthmus,  connecting  Egypt  with  Asia,  did  not  exist 
at  the  commencement  of  the  present  geological  arrangement. 
The  Arabian  prolongation  of  volcanic  galleries  may,  indeed, 
have  dug  the  channel  of  the  Red  Sea,  since,  on  the  Abyssinian 
sides,  mephitic  lakes  and  a  sulphurous  soil  reach  from  the 
coast  to  the  mountains,  and  chains  of  dormant  craters  pass 
behind  the  coast,  in  a  south-east  direction,  even  beyond  the 
equator.  So,  likewise,  on  the  west  of  the  Nile,  extensive 
tracts,  bordering  on  the  desert,  manifest  igneous  activity,  not 
far  below  the  surface,  in  ebullitions  assuming  various  fantastic 
forms.  From  the  period,  however,  when  the  Straits  of  Calpe, 
the  Bisepharat  of  Phoenician  navigators,  admitted  the  Western 
Ocean,  to  give  the  present  form  and  extent  to  the  Mediter- 
ranean, anteriorly  supplied  with  very  little  fresh  water,  it  may 
be  supposed  that  the  evaporation,  being  more  counterbalanced 
by  the  influx,  passing  mostly  eastward  in  the  straits,  and  still 
more  at  a  great  depth  below  the  surface,  raised  the  sea  to  a 
higher  level,  and  caused  the  circular  course,  which  now,  flowing 
eastward  along  the  coast  of  Barbary,  casts  all  river  deposits, 
brought  down  that  shore,  into  the  recess  of  the  two  Syrtes,  and 
near  the  summit  of  the  Mediterranean,  sweeps  onward  all  the 
Nilotic  discharges.  At  the  commencement  of  the  present 
superficial  terrene  system,  when  the  current  first  acted  upon 
the  efflux  of  the  river,  it  threw,  similarly  as  in  the  Syrtes,  all 
deposits  back  upon  the  coast,  and  filled  the  channel  of  com- 
munication from  the  Red  Sea,  whose  level,  somewhat  higher, 
was  kept  in  check  by  the  prevailing  northerly  winds,  until  a 
bank  was  formed  and  marshes  created,  which  the  same  northerly 
winds,  acting  upon  the  sea-shore,  would  supply  with  dust,  and 
all  other  currents  of  air  aided  to  fill  up,  until  the  isthmus  was 
formed,  and  the  delta  had  advanced  to  the  edge  of  deep  water, 
when  first  it  came  within  the  force  of  the  real  sea  current. 
Thus,  a  space  of  72  miles,  from  Suez  to  El-Arish,  and  nearly 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  145 

ISO  along  the  sea-coast,  from  west  to  east,  became  a  fertile 
land,  where  inundation  extended ;  pasturage  where  it  is  acces- 
sible only  in  part,  and  desert  or  marsh  in  all  the  rest.*- 

On  the  Syrian  coast,  the  Mediterranean  current  is  first 
repelled  by  the  rocky  soil  of  Palestine,  and  turned  northward, 
undermining,  in  its  passage,  the  sea-wall,  formed  of  enormous 
stones,  at  the  port  of  Caesarea  ;  but,  further  on,  completing,  with 
the  sands  of  Egypt,  Alexander's  work,  at  the  isthmus  of  Tyre. 
Next,  at  the  Calpian  Gulf,  the  foot  of  Cilician  Taurus  again 
turns  the  current,  which,  now  forced  in  a  direction  to  the  west, 
is  broken  into  several  devious  branches  by  Cyprus,  Rhodes, 
Crete,  the  Egean  Islands,  Sicily,  the  Peloponnesus,  and  Italy; 
but  still  not  so  entirely  but  that  it  is  again  recognized  in  the 
Tyrhenian  Sea,  and  thence  sweeping  the  deposits  of  the  Rhone 
along  the  coast  of  Gaul,  and  finally  allowing  the  unevaporated 
portions  to  pass  out  at  Calpe,  or  to  resume  again  a  new  circular 
course.! 

*  "It  is  inferred,  from  geological  data,  that  the  Red  Sea,  in  former 
times,  penetrated  to  the  basin  of  the  bitter  lake,  and  there  left  high-water 
marks,  distinguishable  at  the  present  day  ;  flowing  from  thence  to  Lake 
Mensaleh,  thus  entirely  separating  the  land  of  Africa  from  that  of  Asia." 
But  Captain  Veitch  adduces  strong  reasons  against  trusting  to  the  opera- 
tions of  nature  to  excavate  for  herself  a  channel,  again,  in  that  way,  and 
shows,  also,  why  it  would  not  be  expedient  to  form  a  navigable  channel 
of  still  water,  with  locks,  between  the  two  seas,  or  dependent  on  the 
Nile.  This  statement,  drawn  from  actual  survey,  leaves  no  doubt  of  the 
primaeval  separation  of  the  two  continents,  viewed  geologically  ;  and  the 
expected  condition  of  dead  water,  instead  of  a  current  in  the  channel, 
should  a  communication  be  reopened,  is  supported  by  the  fact,  that  a 
simple  process  of  nature  was  sufficient  to  close  it. 

+  It  is  the  enormous  evaporation,  and  the  very  scanty  supply  of  river- 
water  in  the  Mediterranean,  that  causes  its  waters  to  be  deemed  even 
more  salt  than  the  ocean.  The  direction  of  its  currents  is  traced  by  the 
species  of  fishes,  periodically  entering  the  straits,  from  the  west  cr  tst  of 
Africa,  and  in  those  that  remain  permanently,  either  in  shore,  in  sound- 
ings, or  beyond  them. 

13 


146  NATURAL  HISTORY   OF 

AFRICA. 

Of  Africa  the  most  striking  feature  is  the  tabular  form  of  its 
structure,  standing  immovable,  like  a  huge  bulwark,  almost 
centrally  beneath  the  equator,  without  a  plentiful  vegetation, — 
almost  without  forests;  with  few  undrained  lakes,  and,  conse- 
quently, few  great  rivers,  which  derive  their  supplies  of  moisture 
from  clouds  coming  from  distant  regions,  and  furnishing  a 
diminishing  supply;  for  there  is  an  acknowledged  desiccation 
in  progress,  observed  alike  in  Morocco,  at  the  Cape,  and  most 
in  Abyssinia.  Perhaps  the  oldest  of  the  continents,  it  appears 
exhausted.  With  a  vigorous  animal  or  vegetable  life,  thinly 
scattered,  or  confined  to  particular  valleys,  and  with  proofs  of  a 
desert  state  so  remote  that  no  other  region  can  produce  a  simi- 
lar example,  —  namely,  in  the  Baobabs  (Adansonia  digittata), 
of  ninety  feet  in  circumference,  a  bulk  so  enormous  as  to 
induce  Adanson  to  assert  that  they  contained  full  six  thousand 
rings  of  annual  growth, —  that  is,  an  age  which  no  other  living 
organic  body  on  earth  can  claim.*  In  this  great  region,  the 
Nile  alone,  of  all  the  rivers,  is  of  ancient  interest  in  what 
relates  to  the  History  of  Man.  Though  for  centuries  past  little 
or  no  addition  has  been  made  to  the  delta,  the  coast  lakes  have 
materially  decreased  in  depth,  and  the  bed  of  the  river  is  now 
much  higher  than  in  antiquity,  since  the  plain  of  Thebes 
is,  during  inundations,  in  many  parts  under  water.  In  Abys- 
sinia, mountains,  formerly  covered  with  forests,  are  become 
pasture  lands ;  and  a  large  river,  the  Kibber,  which  descends 
from  the  south-west  side  of  that  great  mountain  system,  pro- 
ceeds obliquely  to  the  eastern  coast,  and  is  suddenly  arrested 
at  its  mouth,  under  the  equatorial  line,  by  a  broad  beach  of 

*  There  are  oaks  in  France,  Switzerland,  and  even  in  Great  Britain 
above  thirty  feet  in  circumference,  which  may  be  3000  years  old.  A 
chestnut  on  Etna,  not  one  of  the  largest  or  oldest,  left  a  portion  of  a  side 
shoot,  not  containing-  the  inner  core  or  circles,  which,  nevertheless,  afforded 
1700  rings  of  annual  growth.     Baobabs  thriye  best  on  arid  plains. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  147 

shingle,  through  which  the  waters  percolate  to  the  Indian 
Ocean. 

On  this  side  no  other  facts  of  interest  are  offered,  excepting 
the  great  volcanic  spiracles,  forming  islands  far  out  to  the 
south-east ;  and  a  whole  range  of  craters  on  the  outside  coast 
of  Madagascar,  probably  with  submarine  trunks  that  connect 
them  with  the  series  on  the  main  coast ;  and  the  straits  them- 
selves, which,  perhaps,  were  formed  by  the  collapse  of  a  part 
of  the  Comoro  Islands. 

Down  the  coast,  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  thence 
along  the  western  shores  to  Mauritania,  no  objects  of  a  direct 
interest  to  our  present  researches  present  themselves,  excepting 
those  clusters  of  volcanic  islands,  with  craters  on  peaks  of  very 
great  elevation,  which  were  believed  by  the  ancients,  and  by 
many  moderns  admitted,  to  be  the  wrecks  of  the  Atlantis, 
recorded  by  the  priests  of  Sais  as  the  site  of  a  fearful  deluge, 
which,  it  seems,  was  confounded  with  a  similar  event,  already 
recorded  among  the  devastations  of  Greece.  In  the  plains  of 
Morocco,  among  the  high  lands  of  Abyssinia,  in  the  bed  of  the 
Quorra  (Niger),  in  Congo,  and  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  simi- 
larly formed  table  mountains,  with  precipitous  sides  and  lime- 
stone summits,  occur,  and  with  deep  valleys  or  flats  between 
them,  produced  by  forces  that  cannot  now  be  satisfactorily 
explained.  We  may  add,  that  while  all  the  ancient  adventi- 
tious populations  have  greatly  decreased,  the  indigenous  npgro 
races  alone  continue  to  expand. 

AMERICA. 

America,  stretching  from  the  Arctic  to  the  Antarctic  Circfe, 
has  the  great  chain  of  cardinating  mountains  in  the  same 
direction,  with  indications  of  far  more  awful  convulsions  than 
are  remarked  on  the  old  continent ;  for  here  the  nutations  of 
the  great  ridge,  instead  of  influencing  the  continent,  like  the 
Himalayas,  with  a  gradual  action  upon  their  abutting  planes, 


148  NATURAL    HISTORY   OF 

have  snapped  n,  ar  the  fulcrum  of  its  western  side,  nearly  two 
thirds  of  the  whole  length,  from  Terra  del  Fuego  to  California, 
and  sunk  that  portion  of  the  continent  in  such  deep  sea,  for 
many  degrees  seaward,  that  scarcely  an  island  remains  above 
water.  Freed,  it  would  seem,  from  the  adhesion  of  the  broad 
surface,  as  naturally  belonging  to  this  side  as  on  the  other,  and 
to  counterbalance  it,  as  is  the  case  in  Asia,  the  Andes,  in  their 
whole  extent  in  the  vicinity  of  the  ocean,  retain  volcanic 
activity  in  full  force,  and  consequently  heave  up,  at  the  present 
time,  as  perseveringly  as  at  the  remotest  periods.  They  con- 
tinue to  rise  with  every  great  shock  of  an  earthquake,  perhaps 
affecting  the  whole  height  of  the  mountains,  but  certainly  the 
western  or  maritime  side,  where  successive  stages  may  be 
traced  to  a  great  elevation,  and  rocky  heads,  lines  of  beaches, 
and  shoaling  waters,  become  more  and  more  evident;  as  if 
nature  labored  to  recover  from  the  deep  a  portion  of  long-lost 
terrestrial  soil.*1  The  multitude  of  enormous  volcanoes  in  the 
Andes  do  not  appear  to  have  depressed  the  east  coast  to  a  per- 
ceptible submersion,  or,  rather,  to  what  is  more  than  fully 
replaced  by  the  deposits  of  the  vast  and  numerous  rivers 
which  intersect  the  whole  surface.  It  is,  moreover,  stayed  by 
the  mountain  system  of  Brazil,  Guiana,  and  Venezuela,  from 
whence,  and  from  the  basins  at  the  foot  of  the  Quindiu  Cordil- 
lera and  the  Pacaraima  mountains,  have  been  effected  many 
entire  discharges  of  elevated  lakes,  such  as  the  Amucu  and 
Savannas  of  Dutch  Guiana,  while  the  swamps  of  the  Parana, 
and  the  lagoons  on  the  coast,  remain  unchanged.  But  at  the 
northern  extremity  of  South  America,  where  the  Andes  pre- 
sent an  interruption  in  the  direct  chain,  a  branch  turning  east- 
ward, and  then  to  the  north,  shows  a  connection  from  volcanic 
Trinidad,  through  the  West  Indian  Islands,  till  the  mountain 
character,  but  not  the  volcanic  connection,  is  lost  in  the  island 

*  In  most  volcanic  upheavings,  there  follows  a  subsidence,  —  nature 
endeavoring  to  return  to  its  anterior  equilibrium,  —  but  the  result  is  rarely 
down  tc   he  former  level. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  149 

of  Cuba.  All  this  enormous  surface,  from  Barbadoec  to  Vera 
Cruz,  forming  the  two  distinct  basins  of  the  Caribbean  Sea  and 
Gulf  of  Mexico,  presents  many  indications  of  a  violent  disruption 
belonging  to  the  present  geological  superficies  of  the  earth,  and 
perhaps  not  remote  in  date  from  the  submersion  of  Atlantis  on 
the  African  coast.  A  series  of  volcanic  craters,  still  in  violent 
ignition,  may  have  worked  on  the  single  mountain  ridge,  of  no 
great  breadth  of  base,  pressed  by  the  unceasing  action  of  the 
tropical  current,  laboring  in  a  gyration,  which  impels  the  Atlan- 
tic Sea,  on  the  north  of  the  equator,  and  strengthened  by  the 
trade  wind,  broke  through  the  mountain  barrier  directly  opposed 
to  it,  perhaps  not  unaided  by  the  collapsing  of  the  submarine 
galleries,  or  struck  by  some  great  sea  wave,  rushing  from  the 
African  or  from  the  Azorean  regions,  under  the  impulse  of  a 
mighty  earthquake.  On  examining  the  Windward  Islands,  the 
Grenadines,  between  St.  Vincent's  and  Grenada,  point  out 
where  the  force  of  the  current  was  most  violent;  and  the 
rocky  hills,  from  Tobago  to  beyond  Curaotoa,  almost  perpendic- 
ular on  the  north,  and  sloping  to  the  south,  attest  its  contin- 
uity through  the  Caribbean  Sea. 

"WEST  INDIES. 

The  Windward  Islands  are,  in  this  view,  only  the  remains  of 
8  vast  mountain  chain,  still  impeding  the  currents  sufficiently 
tn  produce  a  very  considerable  difference  in  the  sea  levels 
between  their  east  and  west  coasts ;  or,  as  they  are  obviously 
checked,  according  to  their  respective  localities.  Thus,  in  the 
port  of  Havana,  the  sea  is  thirty-six  feet  lower  than  at  the 
north  side  of  Guadaloupe,  according  to  the  observations  of 
Jonnes,  compared  with  those  of  Humboldt  and  F.  de  Bellevue. 
If  the  great  current  were  not  restrained  by  the  islands,  and  by 
the  coast  of  Yucatan  turned  into  the  Florida  Strait,  the  sea 
level  at  the  isthmus  of  Panama,  now  by  some  asserted  to  be 
twenty-four  feet  lower  than  the  Pacific,  and  by  others  to  be 
13* 


150  NAT!  RAL    HISTOB  i 

equal  in  elevation,  or  differing  only  as  the  tides  on  either  side 
may  be  at  full,  won  1  rise  perhaps  sufficiently  to  separate  the 
two  great  portions  d:  America. 

Here,  then,  we  have  a  not  improbable  diluvian  event  in  the 
western  portion  of  the  world,  sufficient  to  account  for  all  the 
traditions  locally  current,  in  the  supposition  that  the  progeni- 
tors of  the  present  population  were  already  in  part  upon  the 
spot.  Some  authors  have  assumed  the  American  cataclysm  to 
be  the  same  as  the  Atlantic;  but  what  is  more  evident  is  the 
volcanic  agency  in  both,  and  the  ignited  galleries  passing 
beneath  the  ocean,  with  spiracula  in  the  western  African 
islands,  and  the  Azores  completing  the  electrical  circle  on  this 
side,  as  the  Kamtschatka  volcanoes  and  the  Caroline  and  Jap- 
anese effect  on  the  other. 


NORTH  AMERICA. 

North  America,  having  the  Rocky  mountain  portion  of  the 
Cordilleras  for  central  watershed,  although  it  is  less  disturbed 
by  volcanic  convulsion,  in  proportion  as  the  ridge  is  further 
removed  from  the  sea,  and  has  not  discharged  a  great  propor- 
tion of  the  inland  lakes  that  weigh  upon  the  eastern  plane  of 
its  surface,  is  nevertheless  not  so  free  of  igneous  agency  as  to 
escape  the  West  Indian  ramification,  which  passes  through  the 
Floridas  and  South  Carolina,  to  the  plain  of  the  Mississippi, 
where  earthquakes  left  permanent  tokens  of  their  force  in 
1S11.  Over  a  considerable  part  of  the  eastern  side  of  the 
great  mountain  ridge,  more  particularly  where  ancient  lakes 
have  been  converted  into  morasses,  or  have  been  filled  by  allu- 
vials,  organic  remains  of  above  thirty  species  of  mammals,  of 
the  same  orders  and  genera,  in  some  cases  of  the  same  species, 
have  been  discovered,  demonstrating  their  existence  in  a  con- 
temporary era  with  those  of  the  old  continent,  and  under  sim- 
ilar conditions.  But  their  period  of  duration  in  the  New 
World  ma}'  have  been  prolonged  to  dates  of  a  subsequent  time, 


TUE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  151 

since  the  Pachyderms  of  the  United  States,  as  well  as  those 
of  the  Pampas  of  Brazil,  are  much  more  perfect,  and,  in  many 
cases,  possess  characters  ascribed  to  bones  in  a  recent  state. 
Alligators  and  crocodiles,  moreover,  continue  to  exist  in  lati- 
tudes where  they  endure  a  winter  state  of  torpidity  beneath  ice, 
as  an  evidence  that  the  great  Saurians  in  that  region  have  not 
yet  entirely  worked  out  their  mission  ;  whereas,  on  the  old 
continent,  they  had  ceased  to  exist  in  high  latitudes,  long  before 
the  extinction  of  the  great  Ungulate.  The  vast  extent  of  sandy 
alluvial  territory,  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  summit  of 
Long  Island,  appears  as  if  it  were  a  late  deposit,  in  part  debris 
of  the  Mexican  and  Caribbean  portions  of  the  continent,  car- 
ried north,  and  thrown  off  when  the  Gulf  Stream  was  formed. 
At  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  the  sea,  of  small  depth  along 
the  whole  coast,  continues  to  recede  before  the  delta  of  the 
river ;  and  the  Florida  and  Carolina  shores  northward  form  a 
series  of  lagoons  on  the  ocean  side.  The  stream  rushes 
onwards  in  a  north-cast  direction,  and  with  a  gradually  de- 
creasing velocity  and  temperature  (though  both  are  still  very 
perceptible  off  New  York),  until  it  is  finally  neutralized  at 
Nantucket,  and  the  last  particles  of  deposit  suspended  in  it  are 
precipitated  to  form  the  banks  of  Newfoundland.  A  continent 
torn  asunder  and  washed  away  alone  could  furnish  the  immense 
alluvial  surface  and  submarine  banks  here  noticed.  The  rivers 
of  the  United  States  and  Canada  are  not  of  a  nature  to  have 
added  more  than  feeble  deltas,  such  as  that  of  the  Hudson  at 
Sandy  Hook.  Great  changes  are  commemorated  by  the  Indians 
in  their  mythological  and  legendary  tales,  both  in  the  direction 
of  th<  tides  and  in  ancient  accumulations  of  ice.* 

THE  PACIFIC. 

The  Pacific  and  South  Seas  are  likewise  replete  with  evi- 
dence of  great  geographical  mutations ;    some  have  already 

*See  Appendix. 


152  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

been  noticed,  and  the  active  progress  of  coral  reefs  proves  the 
vast  proportion  of  space  beneath  the  waves,  either  still  sinking 
lower,  or  again  in  a  reiiscending  state.  Volcanic  cones,  far 
from  continents,  like  flaming  beacons  at  sea,  towards  the  South 
Pole,  as  Hecla  is  in  the  north,  may  be  elaborating  elements  for 
future  geogonies,  or  heave  up  regions  now  sunken,  on  the 
southern  side  of  the  equator,  more  particularly  where  a 
peculiar  zoology,  living  and  fossil,  appears  to  point  out  that 
one  existed  a.  an  anterior  period;  and,  by  the  evidence  of  the 
great  Struthionidae,  such  as  Dinornis,  only  recently  extinct, 
that  animals  of  such  bulk  w-cre  not  originally  confined  to 
islands  not  larger  than  New  Zealand;  which,  moreover,  is 
/eplete  with  craters  nearly  all  dormant. 


The  foregoing  statements  have  been  submitted,  in  this  place, 
somewhat  more  at  length  than  the  nature  of  the  present  volume 
would  seem  to  warrant ;  but  we  apprehend,  no  view  of 
the  primeval  history  of  Man  can  be  complete,  without  reference 
to  the  conditions  of  existence  which  obtained  in  the  first  more 
calamitous  ages  of  his  presence  on  earth.  Though  particular 
points  in  the  changes  here  alluded  to  may  be  doubted  or  denied, 
still  sufficient  will  remain  to  substantiate  the  influence  they 
must  have  exercised  upon  human  distribution,  upon  man's 
earliest  wanderings ;  and  they  will  finally  establish,  we  think, 
the  fact  of  his  coexistence  with  the  latter  period  of  the  great 
Pachydermous  era.  We  have,  in  fact,  both  sacred  and  profane 
authority  for  diluvian  convulsions  of  great  magnitude,  when 
the  earth  was  inhabited  by  human  families,  in  quarters  very 
distant  from  each  other,  and  when  many  genera  of  animals 
may  have  perished.  If,  in  the  opinion  of  geologists,  more  than 
due  importance  has  been  ascribed  to  the  action  of  volcanoes, 
the  answrer  is,  that  the  violence  of  subterrene  fires  wras  unques- 
tionably much  greater,  and  its  presence  much  more  generally 
manifested,  than  in  succeeding  ages ;   since  it  can  be  shown 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  153 

that  scarcely  oni  fortieth  of  existing  craters  is  now  in  activity, 
or  about  one  hundred  in  four  thousand;  and  yet,  that  there  are 
still  about  two  thousand  eruptions  in  a  century,  or  about  twenty 
per  annum.  Moreover,  Iceland  offers  a  comparatively  recent 
example  to  what  extent  a  volcanic  eruption  may  ruin  a  great 
region  of  fertile  country.  Since  this  was  written,  another 
devastation  has  taken  place  in  the  same  island. 


BONES  OF  MAN  AMONG  ORGANIC  REMAINS. 

For  the  further  illustration  of  this  important  question,  it  is 
requisite  to  examine  whether  the  organic  remains  of  extinct 
animals,  found  in  the  soil,  and  chiefly  in  limestone  caverns  and 
clefts  of  rock,  are  accompanied  by  human  remains,  bearing  sim- 
ilar characters  of  antiquity.  Although,  as  yet,  few  systematic 
researches  on  this  head  have  been  made,  even  in  Europe,  and 
it  is  likely  that  in  many  bone  deposits  no  human  exuviae  have 
been  noticed,  still  a  sufficient  number  of  instances  attest  to  the 
fact,  and  leave  the  question  open  only  on  the  ground  that  they 
were  accidental  cases,  not  belonging  to  the  same  period.* 
Donati,  Germer,  Easoumouski,  and  Guetard,  maintained  that 
human  bones  had  been  found  intermixed  with  those  of  lost  spe- 
cies of  mam  mi  ferae,  in  several  places.  They  had  been  detected 
in  England,!  in  caves  and  fissures,  enumerated  by  Professor 
Buckland  ;  they  were  found  at  Meissen  in  Saxony,  and  at  Dur- 
fort  in  France,  by  M.  Firmas.  A  fossilized  skeleton,  found  in 
the  schist  rock,  when  excavating  the  fortifications  of  Quebec, 

*  Baron  Cuvier,  in  the  last  conversation  we  had  with  him  on  the  sub- 
ject (in  1824),  admitted  that  although  the  human  fragments  discovered  at 
Cette,  near  Monaco,  and  in  the  caves  of  the  Apennines,  might  he  more 
recent,  the  opinions  then  in  vogue  would  require  considerable  modifica- 
tion. 

tAt  Kirkby,  in  Yorkshire,  in  1786,  in  the  fissures  of  a  limestone 
quarry. 


154  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

in  part  preserved  in  the  museum,  at  the  seminary,  excited  no 
attention  ;  and  the  well-known  Guadaloupe  skeletons,  one  of 
which  is  now  in  the  British  .Museum,  had  been  pronounced 
recent  upon  hypothetical  reasoning.  Those  discovered  by  M. 
Schmerling,  in  the  Liege  caverns,  were  similarly  disposed  of, 
and  the  reports  of  Dr.  Lund,  residing  at  Lagoa  Santa,  in  Bra- 
zil, respecting  partially  petrified  human  bones,  found  by  him  in 
the  interior  of  the  country,  and  represented  to  have  been  in 
the  same  condition  with  those  of  numerous  animals  now 
extinct,  which  accompanied  them,  attracted  no  more  than  cred- 
ulous attention,  although  they  were  represented  to  have  belonged 
to  that  singular  flat-headed  form  of  man  which  will  be  noticed 
in  tin-  sequel.^ 

But  the  fact  of  juxtaposition  of  the  bones  of  extinct  mam- 
mals and  of  man  recurs  so  often  that  some  may  be  mentioned 
more  in  detail,  thus :  —  In  the  caverns  of  Bize  (department  of 
the  Aude),  in  France,  human  bones  and  shreds  of  pottery  were 
found  in  red  clay,  mixed  with  the  debris  of  extinct  mammalia, 
among  which  were  recognized  those  of  TJrsus  arctoideus,  Cervus 
auoglochis,  a  species  equal  in  size  to  the  common  Stag;  Cervus 
Reboulii,  Capreolus  TournaVri,  and  Lefroii,  8fC. 

Soon  after,  the  celebrated  Marcel  de  Serres  examined  the 
caverns  of  Pondres  and  Souvignargues,  and  detected  the  remains 
of  human  skeletons  and  pottery  in  the  same  deposits  with  bones 
of  a  lost  species  of  Rhinoceros  (R.  tkhorinus),  a  small  kind 
of  Equus,  and  a  Stag  {Cervus  cataglochis). 

On  the  Rhine,  skulls  of  gigantic  Bisontes  andUri  occurred, 
and  Dr.  Boue  found  human  bones  mixed  with  others  of  extinct 
species  at  Lahr.  In  the  vicinity  of  Xanthen,  beneath  an  altar- 
stone,  the  head  of  a  Cervus  giganteus  (Irish  Elk),  and  a  quan- 
tity of  ashes,  were  discovered. 

*Dr.  Lund  has  since  discovered  another  deposit  of  fossilized  bones,  in 
the  province  of  Minas  Geraes,  along  with  several  entire  human  skeletons. 
He  enumerates,  in  the  same  deposit,  forty-four  species  of  extinct  mam- 
mals, among  which  the  horse  occurs  abundantly. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  155 

In  1833,  human  bones  were  found,  together  with  those  of 
JJrsus  spelceus;  U.  angzistidens,  Hyena,  and  a  Feline  not  much 
le^s  than  a  lion,  Elephant,  &c,  were  detected  in  caves  near 
Luge,  beneath  a  thick  coat  of  stalagmite.  About  the  same 
period,  the  Rev.  Mr.  M'Enery  collected  from  the  caves  of  Tor- 
quay human  bones  and  flint  knives,  amongst  a  great  variety  of 
extinct  species,  such  as  Elephant,  Rhinoceros,  Ursus  a?ignsti- 
dens,  Hyena,  &c,  all  from  under  a  crust  of  stalagmite;  and 
reposing  upon  it  was  the  head  of  a  Wolf. 

Before  that  period,  and  repeatedly  since,  caves  have  been 
opened  by  quarrymen,  at  Oreston,  near  Plymouth,  several  of 
which  had  bones,  such  as  Elephant,  Rhinoceros,  Ox,  Horse, 
Hyena,  and  abundant  coprolites,  denoting  that  they  had  been 
the  dens  of  Carnivora.  Among  them  we  detected  the  upper 
portion  of  the  humerus  of  man,  which  was  immediately  thrown 
away  upon  being  pointed  out  to  the  possessor !  *  Other  cav- 
erns exist  in  the  Plymouth  Hoe;  and,  no  doubt,  also  beneath 
the  present  level  of  the  sea,  for  several  teeth  of  Elephants  have 
been  washed  up  by  the  surf.  Other  deposits  have  been  found 
at  Yeahn  bridge,  and  most  of  the  bones  applied  to  mend  the 
roads,  before  scientific  men  had  notice  of  the  discovery.  Those 
at  Kitley,  we  believe,  have  not  been  disturbed  ;  but  eastward, 
human  bones,  with  their  usual  accompaniments,  have  been  col- 
lected from  a  cave  near  Brixham,  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lyte  and 
Mr.  Bartlett.  There  were,  in  this  deposit,  shreds  of  pottery, 
like  those  of  the  caverns  of  Bize,  in  France ;  and  it  is  said  the 
locality  bore  evidence  of  smoke,  which  renders  it  probable  that 
it  had  once  been  inhabited  by  troglodyte  savages.  Fragments 
of  pottery  were  discovered  by  Captain  MAdam,  in  the  escarp- 
ment of  calcareous  breccia,  at  least  200  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  and.  about  100  beneath  the  vertex,  five  miles  north  of 

*This  is  not  the  only  instance  of  the  kind.  Collectors,  in  the  plenitude 
of  ignorance  and  prepossession,  determined  that  human  bones  were  of  no 
consequence.  —  See  Appendix. 


156  NATURAL   HIST0B1    01 

Monte  Nuovo,  near  Naples;    and   not  within   the   sphere  of 
action  when  that  crater  rose  out  of  the  earth. 


VALE   OF    KOSTRITZ. 

An  instance  more  remarkably  clear,  because  more  carefully 
observed,  is  that  of  the  vale  of  Kostritz,  near  the  river  Elster, 
in  Upper  Saxony,  where,  about  fifty  years  ago,  gypsum  quarries 
were  opened,  in  a  generally  undulating  country,  sufficiently 
elevated  to  preclude  all  supposition  that  inundations  can  have 
had  the  least  influence  on  the  deposits,  since  the  present  geo- 
logical arrangement,  and  without  external  evidence  of  the  exist- 
ence of  any  caverns.  The  soil  is  of  the  usual  red  loam,  which, 
both  in  France  and  in  England,  encloses  organic  remains,  and 
here,  as  in  South  Devon,  covers  the  limestone  formation  of  the 
whole  country.  Masses  of  stalactites  occur  beneath  the  surface, 
and,  at  the  depth  of  twenty  feet,  bones  of  large  land  animals 
were  discovered  in  the  loam  of  the  greater  cavities.  At  Kos- 
tritz, in  particular,  the  gypsum  is  intersected  by  caves  and 
fissures  in  every  direction,  and  connected  with  each  other,  but 
filled  throughout  with  red  alluvial  clay,  containing  in  clusters 
bones  of  mammalia,  and,  among  them,  of  man.  They  were 
first  described,  in  a  lucid  manner,  by  Baron  von  Schlotheim, 
who  summed  up  his  account  by  saying  :  —  <:  It  is  evident  that 
the  human  bones  could  not  have  been  buried  here,  nor  have 
fallen  into  fissures  during  battles  in  ancient  times.  The  human 
bones  are  few,  completely  detached  and  isolated.  Nor  could 
they  have  been  thus  mutilated  and  lodged  by  any  other  acci- 
dental cause  in  more  modern  times,  inasmuch  as  they  are 
always  found  with  the  other  animal  remains,  under  the  same 
relations,  not  constituting  connected  skeletons,  but  gathered  in 
various,  groups,"  &c.  Beside  those  of  man,  of  different  peri- 
ods of  life,  from  infancy  to  mature  age,  the  bones  of  Rhinoce- 
ros, a  great  Feline,  Hyena,  Horse,  Ox,  Deer,  Hare,  and  Rabbit, 
bones  of  an  Owl  were  found;  and,  since  the  paper  of  the  baron 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  157 

was  published,  portions  of  a  small  Elephant,  of  Elk  and  Rein- 
deer,—  facts  which,  in  this  case  as  in  others,  confirm  the 
coexistence  of  species  in  the  present  zoology,  on  the  same 
area.^ 

Of  man,  fragments  are  in  the  possession  of  the  Prince  of 
Reuss,  Baron  von  Schlotheim,  Dr.  Schotte,  and  other  individ- 
uals residing  near  the  spot ;  and  Mr.  Fairholme,  who  went 
purposely  to  Saxony  to  convince  himself  of  the  facts  by  careful 
examination  of  the  locality,  brought  home  specimen*,  which 
he  presented  to  the  British  Museum.  It  appears  that  all  the 
bones  are  not  precisely  entombed  within  the  caverns  or  the 
fissures,  since  the  fragment  of  an  arm  and  the  thigh-bone  of  a 
man  were  dug  out  of  the  clay  at  eighteen  feet  of  depth,  and 
eight  feet  below  two  phalanges  of  a  Rhinoceros. 


As  the  facts  relating  to  the  coexistence  of  human  remains 
with  the  bones  of  a  mostly  extinct  mammalogy  can  no  longer 
be  denied,  it  remains  to  be  ascertained  whether  the  explanations 
that  have  been  offered  with  a  view  of  proving  that  they  are  of 
a  more  recent  date,  can  be  substantiated.  Those  found  in  the 
clefts  of  lime  rock  in  England  (17S7)  were  reburied  or  thrown 
on  the  public  road,  without  further  notice.  The  late  Rev.  Mr. 
M'Enery  disposed  of  those  he  found,  without  examination; 
and,  as  it  appears  to  us,  his  replies  to  our  interrogations,  and 
his  letter,  afterwards  published,  did  not  exactly  coincide,  since 
there  was  some  disparity  in  the  bones  not  being  all  found  above 
the  stalagmite,  but  partly  below.  The  criterion  for  pronouncing 
on  the  age  of  vertebrata  remains,  we  believe,  rests  solely, 
beside  the  circumstances  of  location,  upon  the  absence  or  pres- 
ence of  animal  matter  in  them.  In  the  first  case,  a  bone  sticks 
to  the  tongue  ;  in  the  second,  it  is  not  adhesive.     No  series  of 

*Cuvier  remarked  the  coexistence  of  Elk,  in  all  respects  appearing  to 
be  identical  with  the  present,  the  Asiatic  elephant,  and  other  tropical  ani- 
mals, in  the  same  deposits. 

14 


158  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

experiments,  elaborately  made,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  yet 
determined  to  what  extent  the  criterion  can  be  trusted.  Mr. 
Franklin  Bellamy,  with  bis  usual  patient  caution,  submitted  a 
portion  of  bone  from  the  Yealm  Bridge  Cave,  weighing  one 
drachm  ;  and  also  a  piece  of  bone,  of  the  same  weight,  taken 
from  one  by  the  road-side,  that  might  have  been  exposed  for 
many  months.  Each  was  placed  in  a  separate  glass  vessel, 
containing  diluted  muriatic  acid.  As  soon  as  the  fossil  bone 
was  immersed,  a  violent  action  commenced  to  disengage  car- 
bonic acid  ;  gradual  corrosion,  or  removal  of  earthy  matter,  suc- 
ceeded, and  in  the  space  of  seven  hours  the  bone  waa  reduced 
to  a  spongy,  flocculent  mass,  which,  having  become  lighter  than 
the  fluid,  rose  to  the  surface,  in  the  shape  of  a  mere  pellicle. 
This,  being  extracted,  weighed  eleven  grains.  In  the  other 
vessel,  a  quiet  and  gradual  escape  of  gas  took  place.  In  the 
space  of  seven  hours  the  earthy  matter  had  been  extracted  to 
one  half  of  the  depth  of  the  piece ;  and  after  the  process  was 
complete  it  remained  at  the  bottom,  and  retained  the  original 
form  of  the  immersed  fragment.  It  was  fibrous,  soft,  highly 
flexible,  and  elastic,  and  weighed  eighteen  grains.  By  adding 
sulphuric  acid  to  the  liquor,  after  removing  the  masses  of  ani- 
mal matter  from  both  vessels,  sulphate  of  lime  was  obtained ; 
and,  when  weighed,  they  were  found  to  correspond  very  nearly 
The  fastidious  caution  of  Mr.  Bellamy  did  not  suffer  him  to 
regard  this  experiment  as  conducted  with  the  greatest  nicety. 
At  our  request,  he  submitted  a  metatarsal  bone  of  Hyena,  from 
the  same  cavern,  to  immersion  in  one  sixth  of  muriatic  acid  to 
five  sixths  of  water;  but  in  this  case,  after  the  earthy  matter 
was  thrown  off,  the  animal  substance  remained  so  abundant 
that  the  bone  retains  its  complete  form,  is  only  translucent,  and 
remains  at  the  bottom  of  the  liquor,  as  if  it  were  a  recent  speci- 
men, of  which  it  preserves  all  the  characters. 

Pieces  of  human  skull,  from  a  sub-Apennine  cavern,  in 
Tuscany,  probably  not  less  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  centuries 
old,  appeared  thoroughly  fossilized,  or  rather  entirely  deprived 


THE    HUMAN    SrECIES.  159 

of  animal  juices,  and  in  a  chalky  state.  On  examination,  in 
proper  chemical  tests,  by  Dr.  Armstrong,  of  the  Royal  Naval 
Hospital  at  Plymouth,  and  by  Mr.  Oxland,  chemist,  both 
gentlemen  came  to  conclusions  which  did  not  invalidate  Mr. 
Bellamy's  investigation,  though  they  presented  a  smaller 
quantity  of  gelatine  or  animal  matter  than  was  obtained  from 
the  bones  above  mentioned.  Human  bones,  from  the  Brixham 
Cavern,  were  said  to  be  recent,  though  they  appeared  to  us  as 
if  the  extremities  had  been  gnawed,  and  marks  of  teeth  were 
traceable  at  the  sides.  Not  far  from  the  cave  where  these 
remains  were  found,  there  was  dug  out  of  the  sand  a  thoroughly 
fossilized  head  of  a  Deer  (Rangifer  ?),  within  a  few  feet  of  a 
humerus  of  some  great  feline,  not  less  than  a  Panther,  but  hav- 
ing all  the  appearance  and  color  of  a  recent  bone.  Great  dis- 
similarity exists  in  the  conditions  of  the  bones  of  extinct 
mammals,  undoubtedly  arising  in  part  from  their  relative  ages, 
but  still  more  from  the  localities  where  they  are  found  de- 
posited. Those  of  Megatherium,  often  discovered  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  Pampas  of  Brazil,  necessarily  differ  from  bones 
located  in  clefts  of  limestone  rocks  in  the  same  country. 
Again,  there  is  a  change  between  these  and  the  Mastodons  of 
the  clayey  bone  licks  of  North  America  and  gravels  of  Eng- 
land ;  and,  still  more,  between  those  of  the  Asiatic  Mammoths, 
which  are  so  perfectly  fresh  that  bears  have  devoured  the  flesh 
after  many  ages  of  preservation  in  ice  or  frozen  earth.  The 
bones  found  in  Gibraltar  breccia  are  not  in  the  same  condition 
as  those  dug  out  of  the  red  loam  or  clay  beneath  stalagmites. 
They  are  dissimilar  even  in  the  same  caves,  and  therefore  we 
may  infer  that  the  criterion  whereby  their  age  is  to  be  deter- 
mined is  exceedingly  questionable,  and,  consequently,  that 
human  bones  found  among  them,  and  under  similar  conditions, 
should  not  be  made  exceptions  upon  hypothetical  assumptions, 
but  treated  similarly  with  those  around  them.  No  new  theory 
of  guesses  should  be  admitted  for  every  recurring  case.  With 
regard  to  the  pretence  that  they  may  have  dropped  into  the 


160  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

caves,  it  is  to  be  observed,  that  few  of  these  receptacles  have 
been  found  to  have  perceptible  openings,  excepting  such 
as  have  been  accidentally  made  in  later  times.  Besides,  no 
accident  could  place  them  under  the  stalagmite  subsequent  to 
its  formation.  When  recourse  was  had  to  the  supposition,  that 
alter  the  ossiferous  formation  was  completed,  either  by  deposits 
caused  by  floods,  by  the  gradual  accumulation  produced 
through  the  intervention  of  resident  carnivora,  or  in  any  other 
way,  they  were  buried  in  the  caves,  without  considering  that 
savages,  who,  as  the  presence  of  flint  knives  proves,  could,  with 
such  implements  hardly  break  through  the  dense  stalagmite 
;rust,  and,  from  their  nature,  would  scarcely  be  willing  to 
effect  a  passage  through  what  must  have  been  viewed  by  them 
as  solid  rock,  when,  within  the  distance  of  a  few  yards,  they 
would  bury  a  relative,  worthy  the  trouble,  with  ease,  in  the 
common  soil/*  If,  in  truth,  the  human  bones  found  among  the 
others  had  been  placed  in  those  receptacles  by  the  hand  of 
man,  there  would  be  tokens  of  human  care;  they  would  be 
found  connected,  and  the  skulls,  by  far  the  hardest  bone  and 
longest  preserved,  would  not  be  wanting,  as  they  generally 
are ;  nor,  in  that  case,  would  the  human  remains  be  deprived 
of  animal  juices,  exactly  in  the  same  condition  as  those  in  the 
bones  of  extinct  species,  —  that  is,  varying  according  to  cir- 
cumstances, as  they  occur  in  both.  With  regard  to  the  evi- 
dence attempted  to  be  drawn  in  support  of  the  theory  that  the 
human  remains  are  more  recent,  because  fragments  of  pottery 
have  been  found  with  them,  and,  in  one  case,  that  the  cavern 
indicated  the  effect  of  smoke,  it  is  surely  unnecessary  to 
remark  that  savages  are  still  human  beings,  who  make  use  of 
fire  and  of  earthenware,  particularly  in  cold  and  temperate 
climates,  provided  they  are  not  nomads;  therefore,  that  the 
presence  of  human  bones  indicates  the  existence  of  both  fire 

*  To  a  comparatively  late  age,  when  tools  were  not  wanting,  human 
bones  are  found  deposited  very  near  or  on  the  surface  ;  not  buried,  but 
covered  with  heaps  of  stones  or  earth,  forming  cairns  or  barrows. 


TIIE   IIUMAN   SPECIES.  161 

and  culinary  utensils.  Cuvier,  more  profound  and  more 
cautious,  simply  replied,  "  Pas  encore,"  when  he  was  asked 
whether  human  bones,  proved  to  be  coeval  with  those  of  extinct 
mammalia,  had  yet  been  discovered.     This  was  in  1S24.* 

TRADITIONS  RESPECTING   EXTINCT   SPECIES. 

Though  the  remains  of  Mastodon  ang?istidcns,  found  on  an 
elevated  site  of  Peru,  of  Toxodon,  Macrauchenia,  and  Mylodon, 
may,  in  America,  point  to  a  more  remote  antiquity,  the  bones 
of  Megatherium,  in  Brazil,  are  on  or  near  the  surface,  in  a 
recent  state,  and  in  the  same  condition  as  those  of  Horse,  often 
accompanying  them,  whose  bones  arc,  nevertheless,  accepted 
as  belonging  to  an  extinct  species.  Now,  could  they  have 
resisted  disintegration  during  four  or  five  thousand  years,  con- 
sidering both  of  these  to  have  lain  exposed  to,  or,  at  least, 
•vithin  the  influence  of  a  tropical  sun  and  the  periodical  rains? 
Yet  they  occur  often  on  the  surface,  and  the  bones  of  the  pel- 
vis have  been  used  for  temporary  fire-places,  by  the  aborigines, 
wandering  on  the  Pampas,  beyond  the  memory  of  man.  In 
North  America,  although  such  remains  as  are  now  usually  dis- 
covered have  lain  sunken  in  clay  or  mud,  deposited  by  former 
lakes,  the  fact  is  not  invariable ;  and  exclusive  of  Dr.  Lund's 
discoveries  in  Brazil,  there  are  native  legends  which  indicate 
traditional  knowledge  of  more  than  one  species.  Such  is  that 
of  the  great  Elk  or  Buffalo,  which,  besides  its  enormous  horns, 
had  an  arm  protruding  from  its  shoulder,  with  a  hand  at  the 
extremity  (a  proboscis).  Another,  the  Tagesho,  or  Yagesko, 
was  a  giant  Bear,  long-bodied,  broad  down  the  shoulders,  thin 
and  narrow  about  the  hind  quarters,  with  a  large  head,  power- 
ful teeth,  short  and  thick  legs,  paws  with  very  long  claws,  body 
almost  destitute  of  hair,  except  about  the  hind  legs;  and,  there- 
fore, it  was  called  "  the  Naked  Bear."     Further  details  arc  fur- 

*  In  this,  as  in  other  cases,  Cuvier  made  it  a  rule  to  answer  only  for 
his  own  personal  observation  ;    and  the  human  skulls  found  in  the  Apen- 
nines he  c  nsidcred  as  demanding  further  research.  —  See  Appendix. 
14* 


162  NATURAL   HISTOID 

nished  by  the  Indians,  which,  allowing  for  inadequate  termi- 
nology, incorrectness  in  tradition  and  translation  from  the 
native  dialects  to  English,  leaves  a  surprisingly  applicable  pic- 
ture to  a  species  of  Megatherida,  perhaps  the  Jeffersonian 
Megalonyx.  Thecolossal  Elk,  another  name  lor  the  Mastodon, 
or  I'cre  aux  Beeufs,  points  ou1  that  with  designations  of  existing 
species  the  Indians  describe  extinct  animals  with  a  precision 
which,  in  the  .state  of  their  information,  nothing  but  traditionary 
recollection  of  their  real  structure  could  have  furnished.  We 
remember  seeing,  in  the  United  States,  a  rib,  supposed  to  have 
belonged  to  a  fossil  ungulate  species,  which  bore  undeniable 
marks  of  a  wound,  apparently  given  by  some  sharp  instrument 
of  human  invention. 

Tradition,  in  the  East  Indies,  similarly  mentions  the  Aula, 
or  Auloc,  Elephant-horse,  a  solid,  ungulated  proboscidean,  sup- 
posed to  be  figured  in  Kindersley's  specimens  of  Hindoo  litera- 
ture, where  the  Macaira,  represented  in  Budha  zodiacs,  is 
again  seen  beneath  the  monster  horse,  and,  still  more  singu- 
larly, bears  the  same  form  in  a  Peruvian  bas-relief,  always 
resembling  the  presumed  figure  of  Dinotherhtm  gigayiteum,  or, 
rather,  with  the  characters  of  an  aquatic  proboscidean. 

The  Uri  and  Bisontes,  of  the  Hercynian  Forest,  have  disap- 
peared, and  the  Machlis  of  Csesar,  if  it  was  identical  with  the 
Sech  and  Schelch,  of  the  middle  ages,  and  the  same  as  the 
Irish  Elk,  by  Breton  bards  transmuted  into  the  Questing  beast 
of  romance,  was  a  real  existing  species,  so  late  as  the  eighth 
century,  and,  perhaps,  even  to  the  fifteenth.  It  is,  neverthe- 
less, an  extinct  animal,  and  its  bones  are  found  under  circum- 
stances similar  to  the  Megatherium  of  America,  and  nearly  in 
the  same  chemical  condition.  Next,  we  have  the  exuviae  of 
existing  species,  exclusive  of  Horse,  Beaver,  &c.  The  Elk  is 
not  unfrequently  found  among  those  of  extinct  animals,  in  the 
same  regions  where  that  ruminant  now  resides;  and  we  ask  by 
what  theory,  compatible  with  the  sentence  pronounced  upon 
others,  these  are  to  be  disposed  of? 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  163 


HUMAN   OSSUARIES,  WITH   BOXES   OF  EXTINCT   ANIMALS. 

Now,  the  inference  which  we  desire  at  present  to  draw  from 
*he  foregoing  facts,  is,  solely  that  the  extinction  of  several  lost 
species  of  the  so-called  fossil  mammalia  was  not  entire,  nor  an- 
terior to  the  first  appearance  of  man  on  earth,  nor  even  to  his 
dispersion  over  the  greater  part  of  its  surface ;  and,  therefore, 
that  the  asserted  alteration  in  the  atmosphere,  by  the  increase 
of  carbonic  acid  gas,  if  it  did  not  affect  their  vitality,  must  have 
been  shared  by  man,  and,  at  most,  can  have  operated  only  by 
very  slow  degrees.*  In  order  to  show  this  probable  coexisting 
state,  other  caverns  may  be  mentioned,  which  were  discovered 
in  the  calcareous  mountains  of  Quercy,  in  the  commune  of 
Guienne,  district  of  Figeac,  and  department  du  Lot,  nearly  in 
the  centre  of  Southern  France.  They  occur,  chiefly,  on  two 
mountains,  on  opposite  sides  of  the  valley,  at  an  elevation  of 
more  than  300  metres  (nearly  1000  feet)  above  the  river  Scle, 
and  at  a  locality  which  appears  to  be  connected  with  circular 
and  rectilinear  fortifications,  whereof  the  ruins  bear  a  resem- 
blance to  what  are  commonly  called  Cyclopean  walls,  such  as 
occur  in  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  and  Italy.  Here  it  is  that  an 
unknown  people  actually  did  bury,  or,  at  least,  made  ossuaries 
of  the  dead,  at  a  period  so  remote  as  in  all  probability  to  be 
anterior  to  the  arrival  of  the  historical  Celts,  who  were  them- 
selves colonists  ere  the  Gauls  established  their  power  west  of 
the  Rhine.  The  people  in  question,  though  barbarian,  was  not 
a  mere  assemblage  of  savages.     It  was  stationary,  if  we  can 

*  Captain  M'Adam,  in  MS.  Lectures,  gives  the  English  coal  formations 
alone  to  have  returned,  — 

Oxygen, 7,706,700,800  cubic  feet. 

Absorbed  carbo-uc  acid,       .     .     .     3,123,530,809  cubic  feet. 

But  since  the  remains  of  birds,  of  marsupials,  &c,  are  discovered,  belong- 
ing to  the  eocene  period,  there  does  not  seem  to  exist  any  reason  for  pre- 
suming a  marked  atmospheric  difference  could  prevail,  since  the  more 
perfect  vertcbratae  were  in  being. 


164  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

trust  the  defensive  structures  to  have  been  its  work,  and  had 
social  institutions,  at  a  time  when  the  Rhinoceros  and  extinct 
Reindeer  had  not  departed.  An  obscure  and  remote  tradition 
pervading  the  present  inhabitants,  that,  among  other  localities, 
there  existed  caverns  on  the  right  side  of  the  river,  replete 
with  wondrous  treasures,  an  entrance  into  one  was  at  length 
searched  for,  and  in  1825,  digging  in  a  spot  judged  to  be  favor- 
able, at  the  depth  of  three  feet,  the  excavators  found  a  human 
skeleton,  and  an  iron  tool  of  a  forked  shape.  They  continued 
to  sink  a  shaft  to  the  depth  of  eighteen  metres,  about  fifty-six 
English  feet,  until  they  encountered  a  stone  harrier  of  human 
workmanship;  and  having  forced  a  passage,  the  workmen  dis- 
covered three  branches  or  natural  galleries,  and  passed  by  one 
of  them  into  the  desired  cavern.  Instead  of  treasures,  however, 
human  bones  were  found  in  great  quantities.  They  were 
mostly  disposed  in  the  crevices  of  the  rock,  with  evident  care, 
and  others  were  pressed  regularly  into  a  cavity,  and  covered 
with  a  flat  slab,  surrounded  by  a  circle  of  very  clean  white 
stones.  By  the  precautions  that  had  been  taken  to  block  up 
every  entrance  with  walls  of  stone,  and  the  success  with  which 
it  had  been  performed, —  (since  the  shaft  by  which  an  opening 
was  forced  did  not  reach  the  real  entrance),  —  the  whole  mani- 
fested that  it  had  been  a  tribal  necropolis,  formed  with  great 
respect  for  the  dead,  at  the  same  time  that  a  strong  impres- 
sion was  created  of  its  remote  antiquity,  from  the  circumstance 
of  these  human  remains  being  accompanied  by  the  head  and 
three  teeth  of  a  Rhinoceros,  antlers  of  a  small  species  of  Rein- 
deer, the  head  of  an  extinct  species  of  Stag,  the  shoulder-blade 
of  a  very  large  Bovine,  and  the  canon  bone  of  a  Horse.  In 
this  case,  we  hear  of  no  stalagmite,  no  red  loam  ;  there  is  no 
mention  of  Hyenas  or  other  carnivorous  animals,  and  only  a 
few  remains  of  herbivora,  which  may  have  been  deposited  in 
the  human  ossuary,  because  they  had  served  for  sacrificial 
purposes  in  honor  of  the  dead.  It  is  not  probable,  if  they  had 
been  found  in  the  locality,  when  cleared  for  a  sacred  purpose, 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  165 

that  there  w  uld  not  have  been  any  more,  and  in  company 
with  debris  oi'  carnassiers,  or  that  they  would  not,  in  that  case, 
have  been  removed,  without  exception.  If  the  ossuary  was 
formed  by  progenitors  of  Basque,  Euscarra,  or  Cantabrian 
tribes  (the  most  ancient  marine  Hyperboreans  of  the  Ouralian 
or  Finnic  stock  in  Western  Europe),  the  presence  of  sacrificial 
heads  and  antlers  would  call  to  mind  a  similar  practice  still  in 
vogue  among  the  kindred  pagan  tribes  in  the  Arctic  regions, 
where  Elk  and  Reindeer  horns  invariably  decorate  the  tumuli 
of  the  dead,  and  would  substantiate  the  inference  that  the  lost 
herbivorae  here  mentioned,  including  a  Rhinoceros,  were  still 
existing  at  a  time  when  the  people  in  question  were  already 
settled  in  Southern  Europe. 

From  the  foregoing  observations,  we  have  no  grounds  for 
objecting  to  the  coexistence  of  man  with  departed  species,  and 
wc  may  naturally  expect  his  debris  to  become  more  abundant, 
in  proportion  as  the  others  are  less  numerous,  and  will  contain 
an  increasing  number  of  the  last  extinguished,  or  of  such  as 
are  still  in  being :  —  Ruminants,  among  which  may  be  reck- 
oned Wrus,  Bison,  Elk,  Reindeer,  Sheep ;  and  Carnivora, 
more  particularly  Bears,  Felinse,  and  wild  Canidoe,  whereof 
the  Wolf  is  anion?  the  latest. 


We  have  adduced  the  foregoing  facts  and  inferences,  not 
so  much  to  establish  the  implied  dependence  that  should  be 
placed  upon  them  singly,  but  as  inducements  for  the  general 
reader  to  bear  them  in  mind  as  a  whole,  without  which  the 
conditions  of  human  life,  in  a  primeval  state,  such  as  man's 
distribution  and  earliest  migrations,  cannot  be  fairly  reviewed. 
Thus  much  we  have  deemed  necessary,  foregoing,  at  the  same 
time,  to  search  beyond  the  later  age  of  the  great  pachydermous 
distribution. 

In  a  mental  physiological  retrospect,  we  might,  perhaps,  fan- 
cifully, but  not  without  truth,  cast  a  pictorial  glance  over  the 
aspect  of  organic  nature,  as  it  may  have  been  presented  to  the 


166  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

light  of  day  in  the  brightness  of  youthful  creation,  wit 
dant  meada  and  dense  I  imposed  of  botanical  families 

still  extant,  abounding  in  Palms  of  different  genera,  in  Bp 
of  giant  ArundinacecB  and  Marsh  Plants,  at  this  day  flourish- 
ing in  warm  r  ination   might   behold   remaining 
Pachyderms  on  the  borders  of  lakes;  huge  Ruminants  swarm- 
ing on  tli''  plains  ;  Saurians  not  as  yet  n  duced  in  location,  and 
numbers  basking  or  floundering  on  the  banks  of  the  w 
Hyenas  by  the  borders  of  the  wood,  or  glaring  from  opening 
caverns  ;  and.  perhaps,  a  distant  solitary  column  of  white  smoke 
ascending  from  the  forest,  the  certain  indication 
ence,  as  yet  humble,  and  in  awe  of  the  brute  monarchs  around 
him  ;  possessing  no  weapons  beyond  a  club,  nor  a  tool  1" 
a  flint  knife  ;  timid  on  earth,  because  he  is  still  unacqu 
with   his  own   rising  superiority  over  other  animated  beings, 
though  they  be  more  powerful  than  himself;  and  ignorant  of 
his  destiny  to  survive  their  duration  of  existence,  though  he 
may  already  have  witnessed  convulsions,  which,  while  they 
tend  to  benefit  him,  and  set  bounds  to  the  rest,  are  yet  causes 
of  apprehension,  because  he  cannot  wholly  escape  their  opera- 
tion. 

Whether  such  a  condition  of  life,  one  that  may  be  seen  at 
'.he  present  time  in  those  regions  and  latitudes  where  the 
a:tive-minded  European  has  not  yet  overturned  the  old  innate 
habits  of  savage  life,  —  whether  such  an  existence  dates  so  far 
back  as  6000  years,  or  7322,  according  to  Professor  Wallace, 
or  does  not  amount  to  forty-two  centuries,  is  not,  in  our  view, 
a  question  of  importance;  since,  between  the  dates  of  Man's 
creation  and  the  present,  there  is  abundant  proof,  not  only  of 
one  general  diluvian  catastrophe,  but,  also,  of  many  others 
more  or  less  important;  and  these  alone,  in  a  great  measure, 
are  sufficient  cause  for  the  dispersion  of  Man  to  all  the  points 
of  the  earth  where  he  is  found  to  reside,  and  in  many  places 
where  the  marks  of  his  presence  evidently  date  back  to  a  very 
remote  period. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  1G7 


EXISTENCE  OF  MAN  AS  A  GENUS,  OR  AS  A  SINGLE  SPECIES. 

Although  the  existence  of  Man  upon  the  face  of  the  earth, 
to  a  very  remote  period,  cannot  be  denied,  it  still  remains  a 
question,  in  systematic  zoology,  whether  mankind  is  wholly 
derived  from  a  single  species,  divided  by  strongly  marked  vari- 
eties, or  sprung  successively  or  simultaneously  from  a  genus, 
having  no  less  than  three  distinct  specii  s,  synchronizing  in 
their  creation,  or  produced  by  the  hand  of  nature  at  different 
epochs,  each  adapted  to  the  peculiar  conditions  of  its  period, 
and  all  endowed  with  the  power  of  intermixing  and  reproduc- 
ing filiations,  up  to  a  certain  extent,  in  harmony  with  the 
intermediate  locations,  which  circumstances,  soil,  climate,  and 
food,  necessitate.  Of  these  questions,  the  first  is  assumed  to 
be  answered  in  the  affirmative,  notwithstanding  the  many  diffi- 
culties which  surround  it  ;  and  a  very  recent  author,  of  un- 
doubted ability,  has  gone  so  far  as  to  conclude  that  man  neces- 
sarily constitutes  but  one  single  species.  The  inference,  at 
first  sight,  appears  to  repose  almost  wholly  upon  authority 
without  physiological  assent,  excepting  when-  physiology  itself 

again  upon  an  assumed  conclusion.  Now,  with  n 
to  the  second  proposition,  notwithstanding  an  unnecessary 
multiplication  of  species  successively  adopted  by  other  philo- 
sophical physiologists,  it  cannot  be  denied  that,  by  their  hy- 
pothesis, many  phenomena,  most  difficult  of  explanation,  are 
solved  in  a  comparatively  natural  way,  and  so  far  deserve 
more  implicit  confidence.  For  the  first,  scientifically  taken, 
reposes  mainly  upon  the  maxim  in  natural  history,  which 
declares,  "  That  the  faculty  of  procreating  a  fertile  offspring 
constitutes  identity  of  species,  and  that  all  differences  of  struc- 
ture and  external  appearance,  compatible  therewith,  are  solely 
the  effects  resulting  from  variety  of  climate,  food,  or  accident ; 


1G8  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

consequently,  are  forms  of  mere  varieties,  or  of  raws  of  one 
common  species!"*  The  second,  on  the  contrary,  while  admit- 
ting the  minor  distinctions,  as  the  effects  of  local  causes, 
regards  the  structural,  taken  together  with  the  moral  and  intel- 
lectual characters,  as  indications  of  a  specific  nature  not  refer- 
able to  such  causes,  albeit  the  species  remain  prolific  by 
inter-union,  which,  according  to  them,  are  the  source  of  varie- 
ties and  intermediate  races. 

In  systematic  zoological  definitions,  the  first  may  be  regarded 
as  sufficiently  true  for  general  purposes  of  classification  ;  but, 
physiologically,  it  cannot  be  assumed  as  positively  correct,  since 
there  are  notable  exceptions,  most  probably  in  all  the  classes  of 
the  animal  kingdom,  from  the  lowest  up  to  the  most  compli- 
cated ;  and,  therefore,  when  applied  to  mankind,  it  is  of  little 
weight,  since  even  the  exceptional  law,  assumed  by  the  writer 
who  regards  the  human  races  as  necessarily  of  one  species 
only,  is  more  likely  to  operate  in  the  usual  generical  form  of 
animated  beings,  than  by  acting  inversely,  granting  to  one  spec- 
ified type  the  attributes  that  belong,  in  all  other  instances,  to 
a  genus;  and  so  far  supporting  his  own  doctrine  of  a  progress- 
ive creation.  In  physics,  dogmas  are  admissible  only  so  long 
as  they  are  not  disproved.  Since  the  fissiparous  propagation  of 
some  animals  is  established,  "  Omne  animal  ex  ovo "  is  no 
longer  asserted  to  be  a  universal  maxim,  nor  that  all  parturi- 
tion of  mammalia  is  derived  wholly  from  uterine  gestation; 
for,  without  referring  to  classes  of  a  lower  organization,  fertile 
offspring  is  obtained  among  several  genera  of  brute  mammals, 
from  the  union  of  two  or  more  so-called  distinct  species ;  or 
the  definition  of  that  word  is  several  ways  incorrect.  Frederic 
Cuvier,  sensible  of  the  fallacy  embodied  in  the  maxim  above 
quoted,  endeavored  to  prop  it  up  by  an  argument  drawn  from 
the  asserted  gradual  decrease  of  prolific  power  in  a  breed  of 

*  Buffon  and  Cuvier  have  made  their  definitions  somewhat  more  com- 
plicated, but  essentially  the  same 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  169 

hybrids,  obtained  from  the  union  of  a  Wolf  and  Dog-,  reared  by 
Buffon ;  an  experiment  often  referred  to,  but  not  carried  out 
with  the  care  and  perseverance  required  to  render  it  of  sub- 
stantial weight. 

We  have,  for  example,  among  carnassiers,  the  Wolf,  Dhole, 
Chakal,  and  Dog;  that  is,  all  the  diurnal  canidae,  if  the  dogma 
were  true,  would  form  only  one  species,  diversified  merely  by 
the  effects  of  chance,  food,  and  climate,  though  all  of  them 
reside  together  in  the  same  regions,  such  as  India,  and  main- 
tain their  distinctions;  or  the  species  Canis  alone,  as  now  clas- 
sified, must  offer  the  union  of  three  or  more,  aboriginally 
different.  This  is  plainly  indicated  by  the  great  inequality  in 
the  number  of  mammae;  for  they  are  not  always  in  pairs,  and 
vary  from  one  individual  to  another,  —  from  five  and  six,  to 
seven,  eight,  nine,  and  ten.*  No  condition  of  existence  that 
we  know  of  can  produce  such  an  anatomical  irregularity,  with- 
out a  presumption  that  it  arises  from  the  intermixture  of  dif- 
ferent types  ;  and  the  opinion  is  further  borne  out,  by  other 
structural  differences  in  dogs,  strictly  so  called,  amounting  to  a 
greater  diversity  of  forms  than  there  are  between  that  species 
and  the  Wolf,  Dhole,  or  Chakal ;  differences  which  maintain 
themselves,  with  very  slight  modifications,  in  the  extreme  cli- 
mates, whither  Man  has  conveyed  the  various  races,  large  or 
small,  and  amounting,  in  some  cases,  to  greater  hindrance  to 
the  continuation  of  so-called  varieties  than  are  recorded  to 
have  obstructed  the  experiment  between  Wolf  and  Dog  already 
noticed. 

The  FtiidcB  offer  another  instance  of  blending  two  or  more 
species  without  apparent  difficulty.  The  breeds  of  the  domes- 
tic cats  produce,  with  the  wild  species  of  the  Himalaya  Moun- 

*  On  the  property  of  a  relative,  there  was  lately  a  bitch,  of  the  Spanish 
mastiff  breed,  twenty-nine  inches  at  the  shoulder,  who  brought  forth 
twelve  puppies  at  one  birth  ;  indicating  even  a  greater  disturbance  in  the 
original  species,  and  proving  that  mastiffs  are  by  no  means  as  sterile  as 
js  pretended. 

15 


170  NATUBAL   HISTORY   OF 

tains,  the  booted  of  Egypt  (Ft  lis  maniculata),  the  wild  Indian 
[Fells  pennantii),  and  the  original  tortoise-shell,  —  all  regs 
as  distinct;  yet  remaining  prolific,  with  but  small  appearance 

of  being  varieties.* 
Among  Pachyderms,  the  Hoi  e,  and,  still  more  evidently,  the 

domestic  Il(>L,r,  by  the  great  irregularity  in  the  vertebral  column, 
&c.,  indicate  a  plural  ori 

.in,  in  BuminantiOt  Goats  and  Sheep  intermix-,  producing 
permanently  fertile  hybrid-;  although  the  genus  Ovis,  exclu- 
sive of  the  Argalis,  offers  several  species  in  a  wild  state,  which 
have  themselves  every  appearance  of  being  the  types  of  differ- 
ent domestic  races,  that  have  been  blended  into  common  sheep 
after  they  had  been  separately  subjugated.  Such  are  the  Sha, 
a  species  of  Little  Thibet;  the  Koch  of  the  Suleimany  range, 
having  only  five  molars;  the  Persian  Sheep  of  Gmelin;  and 
the  bearded  or  Kebsch  of  Africa,  which  is  sufficiently  aberrant 
to  have  been  placed  in  a  sub-genus,  denominated  AmmolragusA 
Another  example  may  be  pointed  out  in  the  promiscuous  breed- 
ing of  common  cattle  with  Zebu  (Bos  Gibbosiis),  a  species  born 
with  two  teeth  already  protruded) ;  with  the  Gayal  (Bos  Gav- 
(Bus) ;  and  with  the  grunting  Ox  (Bos  Poephagns). 

Finally,  let  one  more  instance  be  named  from  among  the 
Rodentia,  where  the  Hare  and  Rabbit  of  Europe,  and  the  vari- 
able Hare  of  America,  produce  a  continued  progeny;  more  par- 
ticularly when  the  hybrids  are  again  crossed  with  one  or  other 
of  the  pure  species  —  a  condition  likewise  the  case  with  all  the 
foren-oin?. 

*  There  is,  besides,  the  brown  black-footed  eat  of  north-eastern  Russia, 
and  others  that  may  claim  a  distinct  origin  ;  but  whether  the  Jaguar  of 
South  America,  and  the  black  variety  (Jaguarete),  forming  a  common  cross- 
breed with  the  Leopard  of  the  old  continent,  in  our  itinerant  menageries, 
be  successively  prolific,  is  not  satisfactorily  determined,  though  the  hy- 
brids so  obtained  are  asserted  to  be  both  stronger  and  healthier  than  a 
genuine  breed. 

t  I  believe,  by  Mr.  Blyth,  who  first  distinguished  several  of  the  above 
species. 


TIIE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  171 

Those  who,  in  the  eagerness  of  defending  a  dogma,  have 
erroneously  assumed  that  the  conditions  of  hybridism,  among 
animals  in  a  state  of  nature,  were  well  understood,  have  like- 
wise asserted  that  they  were  confined  to  domesticated  animals, 
or,  at  most,  to  cases  where  one  of  the  parents  was  domesti- 
cated; and  therefore,  in  all  cases,  formed  vitiated,  degraded, 
and  exceptional  instances,  should  likewise  have  reflected,  when 
the  question  is  raised  respecting  the  specific  distinctions  of 
Man,  that  if  his  influence  be  thus  powerful  upon  the  brute 
creation,  it  should  not  be  denied  to  be  still  more  efficient 
between  the  species  of  his  own  genus,  where  the  degradations 
inflicted  by  slavery,  and  the  corruption  of  so  many  varied  insti- 
tutions, have  an  empire  independent  of  climate  and  food  in 
much  more  durable  operation. 

Enough,  we  deem,  has  been  said,  to  satisfy  the  reader  of  the 
exceptional  character  of  the  definition  above  quoted,  and,  there- 
fore, that  it  is  not  one  to  be  assumed,  with  confidence,  on  the 
question  of  the  typical  forms  of  Man. 

Reverting  to  Buflbn's  experiment  of  breeding  between  the 
Wolf  and  Dog,  intended  by  him  more  with  a  view  to  ascertain 
the  reality  of  their  common  origin,  or  specifical  identity,  and 
by  Frederick  Cuvicr  pointed  out  as  solved,  because,  according 
to  his  view,  it  established  an  increasing  sterility  in  the  succes- 
sive generations,  we  have  already  stated,  that  neither  sufficient 
care  nor  continuity  was  given  to  the  experiment ;  and  that  one 
single  pair,  of  homogeneous  origin,  continuing  propagation 
through  successive  offspring,  without  a  single  cross  of  renovat- 
ing blood,  would,  in  all  probability,  end  in  similar  sterility,  or 
at  least  in  sensible  degradation.  Hence  it  remains  to  be  proved, 
whether  it  would  not  hold  equally  between  two  such  dissimilar 
forms  of  Man,  as  a  typical  African  negro  and  an  European 
conducted  upon  the  same  principle,  of  admitting  no  intermix- 
ture of   a  single  collateral*     We  doubt,  exceedingly,   if   a 

*  It  is  even  pretended,  by  many  white  colonists,  that  no  negro  woman, 


172  NATUBAL   HISTORY    OP 

mulatto  family  does,  or  could  exist,  in  any  part  of  the  tropics, 
continued  to  a  fourth  generation,  from  one  stock  :  perhaps 
there  is  not  even  one  of  five  generations  of  positive  mulattoes 
(hybrids  in  the  first  degree),  from  difTen  ;it  parents,  but  that  all 
actually  require,  for  continuity  at  least,  a  long  previous  succes- 
sion of  foreign  influences  of  white  or  negro,  mestise,  quar- 
troon,  sambo,  native  Indian,  or  Malay  blood,  before  the  sinew 
and  substance  of  a  durable  intermediate  race  can  be  reared. 

When  the  case  is  referred  to  Mongolic  blood,  placed  in  simi- 
lar circumstances,  or  when  merely  kept  approaching  to  equal 
proportions  with  that  of  a  Caucasian  or  Ethiopian  stock,  or 
even  with  any  very  aberrant,  the  effect  would  be  the  same. 
If  the  moral  and  instinctive  impulses  of  the  beardless  stock 
be  taken  into  account,  they  will  be  found  to  operate  with  a 
singularly  repulsive  tendency.  Where  the  two  types  come 
in  contact,  it  produces  war,  ever  aiming,  on  the  Mongolic  side, 
at  extermination,  and  in  peace  striving  at  an  absolute  exclusion 
of  all  intercourse  with  races  typically  distinct.  In  the  wildest 
conquering  inundations,  lust  itself  obeying  its  impulses  only 
by  a  kind  of  necessity  ;  myriads  of  slaves  carried  off  and  em- 
bodied, still  producing  only  a  very  gradual  influence  upon  the 
normalisms  of  the  typical  form,  and  passing  into  absorption  by 
certain  external  appearances,  with  very  faint  steps.* 

War  and  slavery  seem  to  have  been,  and  still  are,  the  great 
elements,  perhaps  the  only  direct  agents,  to  produce  amalgama- 
tion of  the  typical  stocks,  without  which  no  permanent  progress 
in  the  path  of  true  civilization  is  made.  From  war  has  resulted 
the  intermediate  races  of  man,  in  the  regions  where  the  typical 

Laving  borne  a  mulatto  child,  is  ever  after  the  mother  of  a  black  !  She 
becomes,  they  say,  in  that  respect,  sterile.  But  surely  this  must  be  very 
doubtful,  although  our  researches  do  not  invalidate  the  assertion. 

*  This  aversion  to  interunion  with  the  bearded  races  is  a  result  of 
experience,  proving  the  superior  activity  of  those  who  have  sprung  from 
iuch  races,  and  become  conquerors.  Genghiz,  Timur,  and  Nadir  Shah, 
were  directly,  or  in  their  ancestry,  descended  from  Caucasian  mothers  ; 
and  hence,  also,  the  jealous  exclusion  of  European  women  from  China. 


THE    HUMAN    SrECIES.  173 

species  overlapped,  strove  for  possession,  and  were  forced  to 
withdraw  or  to  submit  to  absorption.  Periods  of  repose  seem 
even  to  be  requisite  before  new  influences  are  efficient;  and 
thus,  by  degrees,  commences  that  state  of  amalgamation  which 
the  necessities  of  the  case,  and  the  conditions  already  mentioned, 
prescribe  to  generate  secondary  forms  of  Man,  by  combinations, 
where  new  habits,  new  dialects,  new  articles  of  food,  together 
with  at  least  change  of  climate  in  one  of  the  constituents,  had 
their  legitimate  sphere  of  action.  It  is  thus,  where  the  foreign 
influence  of  infusion  is  modified  by  a  change  of  climate,  that 
mixed  races  spring  up  and  have  a  continuous  duration  beyond 
the  pale  of  their  primitive  centres  of  existence,  until  the  ground 
is  contested  by  the  purer  races,  when  they  fall  a  prey  to  the 
victors,  are  exterminated,  absorbed,  or  perish  by  a  kind  of 
decreasing  vitality,  or  are  entirely  obliterated.* 

The  centres  of  existence  of  the  three  typical  forms  of  Man, 
are,  evidently,  the  intertropical  region  of  Africa  for  the 
woolly-haired,  the  open  elevated  regions  of  north-eastern 
Asia  for  the  beardless,  and  the  mountain  ranges  towards  the 
south  and  west  for  the  bearded  Caucasian.  But,  with  regard 
to  the  western  hemisphere',  it  may  be  asserted  that  it  is  not  a 
centre  of  any  typical  stock,  since  the  primeval  Flathcads  have 
already  disappeared  ;  and,  though  the  partial  population  of  the 
bearded  form  had  been  overwhelmed  by  the  Mongolic,  it  is  in 
turn  now  fast  receding,  and  the  woolly-haired,  brought  in  chiefly 
by  modern  navigation,  it  maybe  foreseen,  will  ultimately  secure 
to  itself  a  vast  homogeneous  region,  without  other  change  in 
characters  than  slight  intermixture,  advancing  education,  and 
local  circumstances,  can  effect. 

Although,  on  debatable  ground,  a  race  may  be  dislodged, 
evidence  of  their  having  had  possession  of  it  remains  in  the 
population  of  the  more  inaccessible  mountains  and  forests  ;  and 

*  Yet  this  apparent  obliteration  must  ever  affect  subsequent  forms  and 
mental  conditions  in  the  victors,  which  the  physiologist  ought  to  bear  in 
mind,  where  known,  or  indicate  when  only  suspected. 

15* 


174  NATT  BAL    ll  I-  J  "UV    OF 

this  fact  is  still  oftener  observable  when  distinct  races  of  the 

same  type  have  contested  the  tenure  of  the  soil.  \\  e  Bee  both 
these  cases  repeatedly  exemplified  in  all  the  metre  isolated 
mountain  systems,  for  the  chains  are  guides  to  further  | 
ress.  It  is  shown  in  the  Neelgherries,  the  Crimea,  the  Carpa- 
thians, the  Pyrenees,  the  Alps,  the  Atlas,  and  even  in  the 
group  of  Northern  South  America  —  all  the  residence  of  very 
diffen  nt  tribes,  driven  to  take  refuge  in  them  at  various  peri- 
ods, and  a  single  ridge  or  valley  often  separating  people  totally 
distinct  in  religion,  language,  and  aspect.  The  conditions  of 
their  several  states  of  existence  often  produce  a  more  certain 
and  impressive  history  of  the  transactions  in  foregone  ages,  in 
a  given  country,  than  its  hest  chronicles  afford. 

Thus,  the  temporary  tenure  of  Caucasian  tribes,  the  Kin- 
tomoey,  Scythi,  Yuchi,  Yeta,  and  Sac®,  and  the  overlapping 
nations  in  the  north-east  of  the  centre,  and  in  north-western 
Asia,  is  proved  by  their  insulation  or  expulsion  by  the  Mongo- 
lic,  to  whom  the  whole  expanse  is  more  genial;  while,  for  the 
same  reason,  this  last  named  stock  could  not  maintain  its  con- 
quests in  Europe,  nor  to  the  south  of  the  central  ridge  in 
Asia. 

But  the  white  and  negro  races  of  Africa  readily  inter- 
mix. The  woolly-haired  form  has  there  no  pretensions  on 
the  debatable  land  between  them.  The  Caucasian  might 
have  assumed  mastery  beyond  it,  had  not  the  force  of  nature 
interposed;  for  this  race  does  not  and  cannot  multiply  in  the 
centre  of  Negro  existence  ;  and  in  the  warmer  valleys  of 
the  intermediate  spaces,  such  as  that  of  the  Nile,  only  a  mixed 
Semitic  stock  possesses  durability.  It  has  been  calculated, 
that,  since  the  introduction  of  the  Mameluke  power,  not 
less  than  five  millions  of  well-chosen  colonists,  of  both  sexes, 
from  higher  Central  Asia,  have  been  introduced,  not  to  wear 
out  a  life  of  slavery,  but  one  of  power  and  rule ;  yet  no  fourth 
generation  of  this  stock  can  anywhere  be  shown  in  Egypt, 
even  with  all  the  additional  aid  of  Syrian  and  Persian  females, 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  175 

to  supply  tl  e  deficiency.*  The  force  of  a  true  Negro  expan- 
sion is  felt  coming  from  the  centre  of  Africa.  It  presses  upon 
the  Caffres,  the  Abyssinees,  and  the  west  coast  of  Nigritia. 
Morocco  is  already  ruled  by  black  sovereigns  ;  and  the  antique 
semi-Caucasian  tribes  of  the  north  part  have  greatly  dimin- 
ished. 

As  it  is  with  individual  life,  so  families,  tribes,  and  nations, 
most  likely  even  races,  pass  away.  In  debatable  regions,  their 
tenure  is  only  provisional,  until  the  typical  form  appears,  when 
they  are  extinguished,  or  found  to  abandon  all  open  territories 
not  positively  assigned  them  by  nature,  to  make  room  for  those 
to  whom  they  are  genial.  This  effect  is  itself  a  criterion  of  an 
abnormal  origin  ;  for  a  parent  stock,  a  typical  form  of  the  pres- 
ent genus  or  species,  perhaps  with  the  sole  exception  of  the 
now  extinct  Flathcads,  is,  we  believe,  indestructible  and  inef- 
faceable. No  change  of  food  or  circumstances  can  sweep 
away  the  tropical  woolly-haired  man;  no  event,  short  of  a  gen- 
eral cataclysis,  can  transfer  his  centre  of  existence  to  another ; 
nor  can  any  known  cause  dislodge  the  beardless  type  from  the 
primeval  high  north-eastern  region  of  Asia  and  its  icy  shores. 
The  white  or  bearded  form,  particularly  that  section  which  has 
little  or  no  admixture,  and  is  therefore  quite  fair,  can  only  live, 
not  thrive,  in  the  two  extremes  of  temperature.  It  exists  in 
them  solely  as  a  master  race,  and  must  be  maintained  therein 
by  foreign  influences;  and  the  intermediate  regions,  as  we  have 
seen,  were  in  part  yielded  to  the  Mongolic  on  one  side,  and  but 
temporarily  obtained,  by  extermination,  from  the  woolly-haired 
on  the  other. 

SPECIES  OR  TYPICAL  FORMS  OF  MAN. 

Whether  we  take  the  three  typical  forms  in  the  light  of 
distinct  species,  or  view  them  simply  as  varieties  of  one  aborig- 

*  The  same  result  is  asserted  to  be  observed  on  the  banks  of  the  Ganges  ; 
though,  in  the  South  Sea  Islands  and  Australia,  the  bearded  stock  multi- 
ples in  itsell,  and  with  semi-Caucasian  Malay  races. 


176  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

inal  pair,  there  appear  immediately  two  others  int<  rmediate 
between  them,  possessing  the  modified  combination  of  chaiac- 

ters  of  two  of  the  foregoing,  sufficiently  remote  from  both  to 
seem  deserving,  likewise,  the  denomination  of  Bpecies,  or  at 
least  of  normal  varieties,  if  it  were  not  that  the  same  difficulty 

obtrudes  itself  between  every  succeeding  intermediate  aber- 
rance. Hence,  from  the  time  of  LinnSBUS,  who  tared 
to  place  Man  in  the  class  Mammalia,  systematise  hav< 

various  diagnoses  for  separating  tin.'  different  types  or  varieties 
of  the  human  family ;  such  as,  the  form  of  the  skull,  the  facial 
angle,  the  character  of  the  hair,  and  of  the  mucous  membrane. 
But  the  skeleton  and  internal  structure  may  not  have  been  suf- 
ficiently examined  in  all  conditions  of  existence. 

It  does  not  appear  that  a  thorough  research  has  yet  been 
made  in  the  successive  cerebral  appearances  of  the  foetus,  nor 
of  the  character  the  brain  of  infants  exhibits,  immediately  after 
parturition,  in  each  of  the  three  typical  forms.  M.  de  Serres, 
indeed,  has  led  the  way,  and  already,  according  to  him,  most 
important  discoveries  have  resulted  from  his  investigations  ; 
for,  should  the  conditions  of  cerebral  progress  be  more  complete 
at  birth  in  the  Caucasian  type,  as  his  discoveries  indicate,  and 
be  successively  lower  in  the  Mongolic  and  intermediate  Malay 
and  American,  with  the  woolly-haired  least  developed  of  all,  it 
would  follow,  according  to  the  apparently  general  law  of  pro- 
gression in  animated  nature,  that  both  —  or  at  least  the  last 
mentioned  —  would  be  in  the  conditions  which  show  a  more 
ancient  date  of  existence  than  the  other,  notwithstanding  that 
both  this  and  the  Mongolic  are  so  constituted  that  the  spark  of 
mental  development  can  be  received  by  them  through  contact 
with  the  higher  Caucasian  innervation;  thus  appearing,  in 
classified  zoology,  to  constitute  perhaps  three  species,  originat- 
ing at  different  epochs,  or  simultaneously  in  separate  regions, 
while  by  the  faculty  of  fusion  with  the  last  or  Caucasian,  im- 
parted to  them,  progression  np  to  intellectual  equality  would 
manifest  essential  unity,  and  render  all  alike  responsible  beings, 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  177 

according  to  the  degree  of  their  existing  capabilities  —  for  this 
mast  be  the  ultimate  condition  for  which  Man  is  created.  Fan- 
ciful though  these  speculations  may  appear,  they  seem  to  confer 
more  harmony  upon  the  conflicting  phenomena  surrounding 
the  question,  than  any  other  hypothesis  that  rests  upon  physi- 
ology, combined  with  geological  data  and  known  historical 
facts.* 

*The  higher  order  of  animals,  according  to  the  investigations  of  31.  de 
Serres,  passes  successively  through  the  state  of  inferior  animals,  as  it  were 
in  transitu,  adopting  the  characteristics  that  are  permanently  imprinted 
on  those  below  them  in  the  scale  of  organization.  Thus,  the  brain  of 
Man  excels  that  of  any  Other  animal  in  complexity  of  organization  and 
fulness  of  development.  Eut  this  is  only  attained  by  gradual  steps.  At 
the  carlirst  period  that  it  is  cognizable  to  the  senses,  it  appears  a  simple 
fold  of  nervous  matter,  with  difficulty  distinguishable  into  three  parts, 
and  having  a  little  tail-like  prolongation,  which  indicates  the  spinal  mar- 
row. In  this  state  it  perfectly  resembles  the  brain  of  an  adult  lisli  ;  thus 
assuming,  in  transitu,  the  form  that  is  permanent  in  fish.  Shortly  after, 
the  structure  becomes  more  complex,  the  parts  more  distinct,  the  spinal 
marrow  better  marked.  It  is  now  the  brain  of  a  reptile.  The  change 
continues  by  a  singular  motion.  The  corpora  quailrigcmina,  which  had 
hitherto  appeared  on  the  upper  surface,  now  pass  towards  the  lower  ;  the 
former  is  their  permanent  situation  in  fishes  and  reptiles,  the  latter  in 
birds  and  mammalia.  This  is  another  step  in  the  scale.  The  complica- 
tion increases  ;  cavities  or  ventricles  are  formed,  which  do  not  exist  in 
either  fishes,  reptiles,  or  birds.  Curiously  organized  parts,  such  as  the 
corpora  striata,  are  added.  It  is  now  the  brain  of  mammalia.  Its  last 
and  final  change  is  wanting,  that  which  shall  render  it  the  brain  of  3Ian, 
in  the  structure  of  its  full  and  human  development.  But  although,  in  this 
progressive  augmentation  of  organized  parts,  the  full  complement  of  the 
human  brain  is  thus  attained,  the  Caucasian  form  of  Man  has  still  other 
transitions  to  undergo,  before  the  complete  chef  (V&uvre  of  nature  is  per- 
fected. Thus,  the  human  brain  successively  assumes  the  form  of  the 
Negroes,  the  3Ialays,  the  Americans,  and  the  Mongolians,  before  it  attains 
the  Caucasian.  Nay,  more,  the  face  partakes  of  these  alterations.  One 
of  t  ,e  earliest  points  where  ossification  commences  is  the  lower  jaw. 
This  bone  is  therefore  sooner  completed  than  any  other  of  the  head,  and 
acquires  a  predominance  which  it  never  loses  in  the  Negro.  During  the 
soft  pliant  state  of  the  bones  of  the  skull,  the  oblong  form  which  they  nat- 
urally assume  approaches  nearly  the  permanent  shape  of  the  American. 
At  birth,  the  flattened  face  and  broad  smooth  forehead  of  the  infant ;  the 


178  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

How  iruch  remains  still  to  be  done,  may  be  further  instanced 
in  the  mental  faculties,  which  have  been  even  more  neglected; 
neither  Live  they  noticed  religious  and  traditional  opinions  and 
practices ;  and  the  connection  they  have  with  the  external 
world  assuredly  demands  rigorous  and  dispassionate  inquiry. 
In  general,  the  leading  cbaracti  r,  Bomewhat  arbitrarily  chosen, 
i>  held  upas  singly  sufficient  and  uncombined  with  others, — 
some  of  the  most  important  points  in  the  question  remaining 
unnoticed,  —  and  sometimes  the  conclusions  are  drawn  at  vari- 
ance with  the  systematic  rules  prescribed  in  zoology  on  all  other 
occasions.  No  common  concert  is  the  result  of  this  variety  of 
systems;  and  a  great  number  of  arbitrary  divisions  and  cause- 
less names  are  introduced,  —  the  proof  how  little  zoologists  are 
agreed  in  their  views,  —  while  the  main  points  are  scarcely 
influential ;  and  more  than  justifiable  stress  is  laid  on  coin- 
cidences of  language,  which,  notwithstanding  they  have  un- 
questionable weight,  are  not  as  yet  sufficiently  discriminated 
for  the  general  acquiescence  of  linguists,  and  should,  more- 
over, be  used  with  some  regard  to  the  occasional  oblivion  of  a 
parent  tongue,  by  the  encroachment  of  another,  brought  in 
vogue  by  a  conquering  people.* 

All,  however,  appear  to  have  taken  but  slight  notice  of 
numerous  races  of  the  several  forms  of  Man,  which  have  been 
entirely  extinguished,  and  to  have  assumed,  for  incontroverti- 

position  of  the  eyes,  rather  towards  the  sides  of  the  head,  and  the  widened 
space  between,  represent  the  Mongolian  form,  which,  in  the  Caucasian, 
is  not  obliterated  but  by  degrees,  as  the  child  advances  to  maturity. 

*  We  refer  to  such  as  the  dialects  of  ancient  Italy.  Etruscan,  &c,  oblit- 
erated by  the  Roman  Latin  ;  the  Celtiberian  and  Turdetan,  by  the  Latin 
and  Spanish  ;  the  Syriac  by  Arabic  ;  Celtic  by  the  Latin  and  French  ;  the 
Celtic  of  Britain  by  the  Saxon  and  English  ;  the  Pelhevi  and  Zend  by 
Perso-Arabic  ;  the  Mauritaniau  by  the  same  ;  and  many  more.  Those 
who  wish  to  view  the  abstract  forms  of  the  classifications  of  Man,  zoolog- 
ically considered,  will  find  an  interesting  article  in  the  Edinburgh  Jour- 
nal of  Ph' sical  Sciences,  by  William  Macgillivray,  fol.  vol.  i.  ;  and  in 
the  AniriH  1  Kingdom,  commenced  by  Linnaeus  Martin  ;  two  works  which, 
it  is  to  be  regretted,  were  discontinued  from  want  of  public  support. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  179 

ble,  that  the  structural  differences  observable  in  nations  are 
solely  the  result  of  changes  of  climate,  food,  and  other  condi- 
tions of  existence,  which  a  careful  attention  to  history  does'  not 
confirm  ;  and  which,  if  they  operated  at  all,  must  be  a  result 
of  the  long-continued  action  of  the  same  causes  upon  the  por- 
tions of  mankind  placed  within  the  sphere  of  their  operation, 
such  as  arid  or  moist  tropical  heat,  arctic  cold,  open  mountain 
ridges,  or  low  swampy  forests  ;  —  yet  there  is  so  little  cer- 
tainty that  such  causes  do  or  would  effect  the  modifications 
ascribed  to  them,  that  it  is  not  even  proved  they  influence  the 
brute  creation  to  any  extent,  except  in  clothing;  and  the  three 
normal  forms  of  Man,  in  every  region  which  is  sufficiently 
genial  to  sustain  the  persisting  duration  of  one  of  them,  feel 
the  effect  but  slightly;  and  as  there  are  only  three  who  attain 
this  typical  standard,  tee  have  in  them  the  foundation  of  that 
number  being  exclusively  aboriginal. 

This  inference  is  further  supported  by  facts,  which  show,  if 
not  a  succession  of  distinct  creations  of  human  forms,  at  least 
probabilities  that  their  different  characteristics  are  of  a  remoter 
date  than  the  last  great  cataclysis  of  the  earth's  surface  ; 
for  the  admitted  chronological  data  do  not  give  a  sufficient 
period  of  duration  between  that  event  and  the  oldest  picture 
sculptures  of  Egypt,  to  sanction  the  transition  from  Caucasian 
bearded  to  the  Negro  woolly-haired,  or  vice  versa,  as  both 
appear  on  the  monuments.  In  that  case,  the  operation  of  the 
decided  changes  would  have  passed  through  all  their  main 
gradations  in  three  or  four  centuries,  without  any  subsequent 
perceptible  addition  in  as  many  thousand  years;*   or  should 

*  There  are,  besides,  such  facts  as  the  perfection  of  style  in  building, 
in  drawing,  and  in  hieroglyphic  intaglio  sculpture,  remarkable  in  the  oldest 
monuments  ;  not  surpassed,  but  even  receding  to  inferior  execution,  in 
subsequent  ages.  A  national  multitude  must  have  risen  out  of  few  parents 
—  all  the  subordinate  arts  invented,  and  so  far  carried  to  perfection,  as  to 
be  available  for  scientific  purposes,  such  as  architecture,  &c,  in  some 
cases  exceeding  our  present  capacities,  or  demanding  the  utmost  ability 
in  the  moderns  to  equal.  All  this,  without  mentioning  Etruria,  Bactria, 
Assyria,  India,  and  China. 


180  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

the  beardless  stock,  which  never  becomes  intensely  black, 
be  regarded  as  intermediate,  tbe  difficulty  is  increased  ;  and 
it  may  be  remarked,  in  addition,  that  the  first  admissible 
appearance  of  this  type,  in  historical  records  of  the  west,  is 
incomparably  more  recent.  Cuvier,  and  other  eminent  writers, 
viewed  the  typical  forms  of  Man  to  have  descended  from  dif- 
ferent high  mountain  chains  of  the  world  after  the  deluge,  and 
therefore  dated  them  at  least  as  old  as  that  period.  But  if 
they  were  in  their  characteristics  the  same  before,  by  what 
force  in  nature  did  they  suddenly,  in  a  short  time,  change  to 
their  present  distinctions,  after  that  event?  Or  if  they  were 
clearly  possessed  of  them,  then  the  remoteness  of  the  time 
renders  all  trustworthy  decision  impossible,  or  favors,  more 
than  it  contradicts,  that  the  tropical  conformation  was  the 
most  general,  and  the  Mongol ic  next,  because  both  extremes 
of  temperature  are  not  incompatible  with  its  vitality  ;  and  the 
bearded  type  last,  the  highest,  the  best  endowed,  and  destined 
ultimately  to  elevate  the  others  by  its  contact;  and,  finally, 
supports  the  same  facts  in  the  location  of  species  which  are 
observed  to  exist  in  the  distribution  of  animals  and  plants  in 
particular  regions,  according  to  their  nature  and  structure. 
Thus,  reasoning  merely  from  facts,  the  woolly-haired  type 
again  bears  tokens  of  greater  antiquity  than  either  of  the  other, 
and  it  may  have  been  of  Australasian  origin ;  not  necessarily 
black,  for  color  alone  is  of  very  secondary  importance.  Other 
distinctions  of  a  specific  character  will  be  found,  when  those 
of  the  three  forms  are  explicitly  enumerated  ;  and  thus  far 
their  separation  as  species  might  be  claimed  as  established, 
but  that  there  remain  still  other  considerations  which  should 
not  be  overlooked,  since  they  tend  to  an  opposite  conclusion. 


Among  these,  perhaps  not  one  is  more  forcible  than  the  fact 
that  the  lowest  form  of  the  three  is  the  most  ready  to  amalga- 
mate with  the  highest.     Again,  that  both  the   beardless  and 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  181 

woolly-haired  acquire  the  Caucasian  expression  of  beauty  from 
a  first  intermixture,  and  very  often  both  stature  and  form  ex- 
ceeding either  type;  and,  in  the  second  generation,  the  eyes  of 
Mongoles  become  horizontal,  the  face  oval.  The  crania  of  the 
Negro  stock  immediately  expand  in  their  hybrid  offspring,  and 
leave  more  durable  impressions  than  when  the  order  is  reversed. 
Even  from  the  moment  either  typical  stock  is  itself  in  a  posi- 
tion to  be  intellectually  excited  by  education,  it  is  progressive 
in  development  in  succeeding  generations.  Here,  then,  at  the 
point  of  most  intense  innervation,  the  spark  of  indefinite 
progress  is  alone  excited,  and  communicated  in  power,  pre- 
cisely according  to  the  quantity  received.  For  the  rest,  gesta- 
tion, puberty,  and  duration  of  life,  exclusive  of  accidental 
causes,  are  the  same ;  and  in  topographical  location,  though 
each  is  possessed  of  a  centre  of  vitality,  yet  all  have  races  and 
tribes  scattered  in  certain  directions  through  each  other,  and  to 
vast  distances,  at  the  very  first  dawn  of  historical  investigation. 
This  may  be  the  cause  why  all  nations  acknowledge  a  great 
deluge,  although  they  do  not  foresee  a  second;  but  almost  as 
universally  expect  a  conflagration.  It  is,  however,  true,  that 
the  obvious  inference  to  be  drawn  from  the  foregoing  remarks, 
does  not  amount  to  a  demonstration  that  mankind  sprung  from 
a  single  pair,  or  is  of  one  species  only,  since  there  are  numer- 
ous proofs,  notwithstanding  a  permanent  divergence,  of  the 
three  types  having  been  constantly  in  sufficient  contact  to 
learn  great  general  traditions  ;  and  the  diluvian  fact  itself  was 
of  such  magnitude,  that  it  may  have  been  actually  witnessed 
by  all.  But  then,  the  intention  of  an  aboriginal  unity  of  the 
species  is  at  least  so  far  indicated  by  the  circumstance  of 
Man's  typical  stock,  having  all  a  direct  tendency  to  pass 
upwards  towards  the  highest  endowed,  rather  than  to  a  lower 
condition,  or  to  remain  stationary. 

However,  these  remarks  appertain  solely  to  the  traditional, 
geographical,  and  historical  considerations,  leaving  untouched 
the  structural  phenomena,  which  the  physiologist  must  weigh 
16 


182  NATURAL    HISTORY    OP 

and  value  according  to  their  true  importance,  if  so  be,  that  ihj 
solution  can  thereby  be  effected,  and  bearing  in  mind  how  cir- 
cumscribed is  our  knowledge  of  the  exceptional  laws  of  nature. 

Without,  therefore,  coming  to  a  peremptory  conclusion  in 
the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  and  having  stated,  so  far 
as  space  and  our  means  permitted,  the  principal  conditions  of 
the  questions  at  issue, —  questions  which  are,  after  all, 
in  a  great  measure  speculative,  and  whereof  the  result  can 
in  no  shape  have  weight,  where  the  moral  obligations  of  Man 
regard  his  intercourse  with  fellow-men,  — let  us  now  proceed, 
first,  to  take  a  view  of  extinct  abnormal  races  of  our  species ; 
and  then,  after  noticing  generalities,  offer  a  somewhat  detailed 
account  of  the  three  great  typical  forms  which  constitute  the 
human  family. 


ABNORMAL  RACES  OF  MAN. 

GIANTS   AND   DWARFS. 


There  were,  in  early  antiquity,  nations,  tribes,  and  families, 
existing  in  nearly  every  part  of  the  earth,  whose  origin  and 
affinities  appear  so  exceedingly  obscure,  that  they  have  been 
transferred  from  physical  realities  to  poetical  mythology ;  and, 
under  the  names  of  Titans,  iEooras,  Hastikarnas,  Danaras, 
Gins,  Deeves,  Thyrsen,  Dwarfs,  Swergi,  Elves,  and  Fairies, 
regarded  as  personifications  of  phenomena  in  nature,  although 
the  inverse  may  be  assumed  with  more  probabdity,  taking  the 
pretended  creations  of  mere  fancy  to  be,  in  their  origin,  derived 
from  physical  realities  more  or  less  distorted.  Such  are  the 
Giant  and  Dwarf  races  of  mythology,  romance,  and  history, 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  183 

both  sacred  and  profane.^  They  occur  in  the  traditions  of 
most  nations ;  and  in  both  hemispheres  their  physical  existence 
has  survived  to  within  late  ages ;  provided,  in  considering  the 
question,  we  reject  wild  impossibilities  and  adopt,  in  their 
stead,  the  subdued  impressions  compatible  with  the  sobriety  of 
nature,  reducing  them  to  an  admissible  stature,  and  view  them 
more  by  the  brutal  ferocity  of  their  manners,  coupled  with 
superior  physical  powers,  than  as  absolute  monsters  in  size 
and  energy.  At  a  period  when  animal  development  and  mus- 
cular strength  alone  gave  preeminence,  it  causes  no  wonder  that 
the  possessors  of  those  qualities  should  abuse  them.  They 
were  the  source  of  the  first  desires  of  conquest  for  dominion  s 
sake.  They  caused  nations  of  more  lofty  structure,  almost  all 
arising  among  the  nomad  shepherds  of  temperate  latitudes,  — 
perhaps  Shetoe,  Kheta,  or  tribes  of  milk-eating  Scythas, —  to 
wander  southward,  and  establish  supremacies  over  weaker 
constituted  people ;  first  as  conquerors,  next  as  a  privileged 
body,  and  last,  as  families,  among  the  subjugated  populations, 
till  intermixture,  or  new  conquerors,  partially  effaced  the  dif- 
ference of  nationality.  Thus,  the  myrmidons  of  Achilles  may 
have  been  identical  with  the  Penestes  of  Thessaly,  the  Helots 
of  Sparta,  the  Charotes  of  Crete,  Gymnetes  of  Argos,  and 
Conephores  of  Sicyon,  which  were  all  tribes  enslaved  by 
foreign  conquerors.  Thus,  with  scarce  an  exception,  Giants 
are  ever  found  in  juxtaposition  with  Dwarfs,  who,  in  reality, 

*  The  extent  of  Giant  legends  is  shown,  from  their  having  no  satisfac- 
tory interpretation,  except  in  the  Scythian  (Gothic)  mythology  ;  yet  they 
are  interwoven  in  all  the  earliest  Greek  mystical  fables,  without  being 
intelligible  to  them.  It  seems  as  if  there  did  exist,  in  Asia  Minor,  a 
particular  version  on  this  subject,  for  it  is  not  a  Greek  mythus  which  has 
served  the  Jewish  fabricators  of  their  pretended  Book  of  Enoch,  where  it 
treats  of  the  commerce  the  Egregori,  or  fallen  angels,  had  with  women. 
The  Giants  heget  Nephilim  (Scandinavian  Niflem,)  and  then  Eliud 
(Elfen.)  This  is  almost  like  the  Edda,  and  may  have  been  forged  after 
the  first  captivity,  when  some  Jews  certainly  visited  Armenia.  See  Lac- 
tam, and  Syncell. 


184  NATURAL    BIST0B1    0] 

are  the  mere  subjects  of  the  other,  and  perhaps  little  inferior 
in  stature,  bu,  certainly  nol  bo  well  supplied  with  food,  and  its 

consequent  physical  results.     Hence,  in  the  early  a 
party  sees  Giants  among  the  leaders  of  the  enemy,  and  only 
heroes  in  its  own.     Here,  again,  tin-  rapid  decline  from  con- 
quering tribes  to  single  families,  sinking  still  to  individuals  in 
a  tribe  of  casual  birth,  who  on  some  occasion-  \  1  to 

he  Roman  emperors  and  Gothic  chiefs.  At  a  later  period,  they 
pass  into  a  kind  of  brutal  champions,  kept  lor  the  sport  or  for 
the  wars  of  chieftains  in  the  middle  and  feudal  ages,  or  for 
show,  as  certain  men  are  still  retained  in  Asia.  Such  Giants, 
in  remote  times,  were  the  leaders  and  princes  of  idolatrous 
Egypt  and  Canaan,  Apoplieis,  Og,  Goliath,  &c.  Such  the  first 
horsemen  conquerors  of  the  Bcdoueen  or  Ethiopian  Arabs,  still 
obscurely  designated  in  the  national  lore  as  fair  and  blue- 
till  the  Almighty  turned  them  red,  and  then  black,  in  punish- 
ment for  their  iniquity.*  And  in  mythological  dualism,  the 
red-haired  Typhon,  Baby,  or  Anteus,  types  drawn,  equally  with 
the  Nephilim,  from  the  red  and  fair-haired  nations  of  Northern 
Asia,  Gog  and  Magog  (Haiguge  and  Magiuge,  or  the  lofty  and 
kindred  lofty)  Scythian  tribes ;  the  Cyclopians  and  Lestrigons, 
the  Thyrsen  or  Tyrheni,  and  Raseni.  Such  the  deified  heroes 
of  Greece  and  of  Etruria,  always  represented  naked,  like  the 
Baresarks  and  Blaumans  of  the  north,  and  Gaurs  and  Hunen 
of  the  Celtic  and  Teutonic  nations.  Such,  finally,  the  Goths 
still  figured  on  the  brazen  bas-reliefs  of  the  cathedral  gates  at 
Augsburg,t  and  others  lately  discovered  during  some  excava- 
tions in  the  Tyrol.  Naked  championship  was  a  custom  pre- 
served by  Greeks,  Gauls,  Britons  and  Franks.  So  late  as  the 
year  157S,  the  Scottish  Highlanders  still  fought  naked  against 
the    Spaniards,  at   the   action    of  Rymenant,  near   Mechlin. 

*  See  Tarikh  Tebry. 

t  These  gates  are  certainly  older  than  the  eleventh  century ;  the  male 
costume  renders  it  likely  that  they  really  belonged  to  the  palace  of  Theo- 
doric,  at  Ravenna,  and  the  workmanship,  that  it  is  Byzantine. 


T1IE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  185 

The  Baresarks  were  true  Giants  in  their  manners,  in  their 
liability  to  fits  of  phrensy,  paroxysms  already  characterized  in 
the  deeds  of  Hercules,  and  like  the  Malay  muck.  In  Moslem. 
Asia  were  the  Chagis,  naked  fanatics  of  giant  stature,  in  the 
wars  of  the  Crusades ;  and  there  still  remain  Shumshurbas, 
Pehlwan,  Kawasses,  prize-fighters  and  wrestlers,  often  pos- 
sessed of  immense  muscular  strength,  kept  in  the  pay  of  gran- 
dees, like  the  ancient  Blaumen  of  the  north,  or  like  Orson  in 
romance;*  besides  these,  a  nation  of  primeval  invaders  of 
India,  denominated  Cattie,  even  now  contains  many  warriors 
above  six  feet  high,  with  a  powerful  muscular  structure;  and 
revealing  the  origin  whence  it  came,  by  the  occasional  presence 
of  light-colored  hair  and  gray  eyes. 

As  might  be  expected,  physical  Giants  flourished  longest  in 
the  colder  temperate  regions  of  our  hemisphere,  and  are  traced 
on  the  American  continent,  in  the  Mexican  records,  and  high- 
nosed  human  forms  in  relief;  while  there  exist  also  several 
tribes  of  American  Indians,  of  very  large  stature,  bearing,  in 
general,  marks  of  a  partially  distinct  origin  from  the  others, 
and  still  more  from  the  Esquimaux.  Again,  in  the  cold 
extreme  south,  the  Patagonians,  likewise  apparently  differing 
from  the  more  stunted  Fuegians  near  them  ;  and  the  Araukas 
or  Arookas,  perhaps  a  mutation  of  the  Indian  Azooras,  com- 
pared with  the  now  extinct  Flatheads ;  and  in  both  cases,  fast 
disappearing,  by  reason  of  recent  interunion  with  trihes  of 
lower  stature.  South  Africa,  again,  is  in  the  possession  of 
a  lofty  race  of  Caffres,  with  their  champion,  Aba-lafas,  by  the 
side  of  the  dwarfish  Bosjemans  and  Dokkos ;  and  in  the  moun- 
tains of  northern  China,  men  above  six  feet  in  height  occur. 
But  it  is  doubtful,  whether,  in  any  region,  they  do  not  all, 
directly  or  indirectly,  spring  from  the  original  bearded  stock 
of  High  Asia ;  therefore  conquerors,  and  always  a  master  race. 

*  The  chained  giant   Widolt  with  the  gavelock,  and  Wade  with  the 
hammer,  of  the  "  Heldenbuch  and    Niebelungen  "  romances  ;    and    the 
wrestler  Charles,  in  "  As  you  like  it,"  belong  to  this  class. 
16* 


186  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

They  have  been  often  and  long  cannibals,  the  earliest  pos- 
sessors of  horses ;  and  hence  doubly  meriting  the  Chinese  name 
of  horse-faced;  because,  in  addition  to  the  first  possession  of 
the  animal,  all  the  lofty  tribes  of  mankind  have  elongated 
features.* 


TIIE    DWARFS. 

The  races  below  a  middle  stature,  frequently  sinking  to  the 
form  of  Dwarfs,  though  seldom  noticed  but  in  conjunction  with 
Giant   tribes,   are    nevertheless   much  more    numerous,  more 

*  In  the  list  among  the  giant  tribes  of  Syria  alone,  we  find  so  many, 
that  it  is  evident  the y  were  mere  families,  ruling,  most  likely,  by  con- 
quest, over  Canaan  it  ish  trilics  ■ —  Nephilim,  Rephaim,  Zuzim,  Gihhorim, 
Enakim,  Zamzumim  —  some  being  distinguished  by  a  malformation, 
having  six  fingers  and  six  toes  on  the  hands  and  feet  ;  of  which  there  is 
a  counterpart  in  the  legends  of  India.  Of  the  stature  individuals  may 
have  attained,  are  the  examples  of  Teutobochus,  king  of  the  Cymbers, 
whose  head  overtopped  the  spears,  bearing  trophies,  in  the  triumph  of 
Marius.  The  Emperor  Maximinus  exceeded  eight  feet  ;  Gabarus,  an  Ara- 
bian, in  the  time  of  Claudius,  was  nine  feet  nine  inches  high  ;  he  was 
shown  at  Rome.  In  the  reign  of  Augustus,  Pusio  and  Secondilla  were 
ten  feet  three  inches  in  height  ;  their  bodies  were  preserved  and  shown 
in  the  Sallustian  Gardens.  The  Emperor  Andronicus  was  ten  feet  high, 
according  to  Nicetas.  Herodes  Hercules  was  eight  feet.  Porus,  six  feet 
nine  inches.  Charlemagne,  seven  feet.  George  Castriot,  or  Skanderbeg, 
and  George  Freunsberg,  nearly  eight  feet.  Without,  therefore,  vouching 
for  the  exact  measurements  here  given,  we  have  still  sufficient  evidence 
to  show,  that,  even  in  recent  times,  men  of  high  stature,  and  of  immense 
strength,  have  been  historically  conspicuous.  The  last  trace,  in  Great 
Britain,  of  the  Giant  character,  may  be  perceived  in  the  Broincch  of  the 
Hebrides,  where  they  are  called  Gruagaichs,  (Gruage  feachd,)  a  hairy 
bandit,  concealed  in  the  glens,  and  coming  forth  at  night  to  plunder. 
During  the  operation  of  the  Berlin  and  Milan  decrees,  we  have  personally 
known,  in  London,  a  Moor,  usually  named  Gibraltar,  captain  of  a  neutral 
merchant  ship,  who  was  visible,  at  a  great  distance,  in  the  Strand,  head, 
breast  and  shoulders  above  the  hats  of  the  passing  crowd,  for  he  meas- 
ured six  feet  seven  inches  and  a  quarter,  and  was,  in  all  respects,  of  the 
finest  proportions,  and  of  very  considerable  acquirements  in  languages, 
&c. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  187 

generally  liffused,  and  bear  evidence  of  greater  antiquity, 
wherever  hey  are  located.  In  some  instances  supplying,  by 
ingenuity,  the  want  of  superior  strength,  they  appear  poss 
of  a  certain  progress  in  civilization  greater  than  the  conquer- 
ing tribes.  Either  from  a  kind  of  instinctive  impulse,  aiding 
natural  intelligence,  or  from  a  docile  spirit  taking  counsel, 
when  the  sense  of  physical  inability  prevails,  from  experience, 
or  from  instruction  obtained  in  the  Caucasian  or  even  Mon- 
golic  stocks,  to  which  they  appear  directly  <>r  indirectly  related 
—  they  are  miners,  metallurgists,  smiths,  and  architects. 
When  not  driven  to  the  woods  and  fastnesses,  they  have  agri- 
cultural habits  and  superstitions  of  a  low  polytheistica]  charac- 
ter, but  bearing  evidence  of  systematic  organization.  These 
qualities,  in  conjunction  with  retiring  defensive  habits,  have, 
in  every  region,  conferred  upon  them  mystical  properties, 
generally  marked  in  legends  by  more  excessively  reducing 
their  stature.  Thence,  we  have  Indian  mythological  Balak- 
hilyas  and  Dwarapulas;  in  Western  Asia,  Eliud,  Peri,  Gin ; 
Celtic  Dubh  ;  Northern  Elfin;  Dwergar,  always  marked  with 
Ouralian,  Finnic,  and  Mongolian  peculiarities;  passing  to 
more  poetical  fairies  and  pigmies,  and  then  to  true  Fins,  Lap- 
landers, Ostiaks,  Samoyeds,  Skrelings,  and  Myrmidons  (of 
Achilles)  afterwards  named  Elfin,  in  the  woods  of  Thrace,  and 
in  the  Hartz,  Tyrolean,  and  Pyrenean  mountains,  where  they 
are  evidently  the  present  Basques;  all  attesting  a  similar 
dualism  of  fancy  and  fact,  as  was  shown  to  exist  in  the  Giants. 
They  bear,  however,  beside  their  diminished  stature,  one  com- 
mon character  in  physical  history  ;  namely,  that  all  the  races, 
where  by  superabundant  intermixture  the  distinctive  marks  are 
not  effaced,  are  swarthy,  with  black  hair  and  black  eyes,  grow- 
ing still  darker  in  southern  latitudes,  till  at  length  they  become 
positively  black,  and  the  hair  assumes  a  woolly  character. 
Still,  among  these,  some  may  be  seen  of  ordinary  stature,  and 
others  are  stunted  by  habitual  want  of  food.  In  this  shape 
they   are,  in  Asia,  recorded    to   have   existed    under  various 


188  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

legendary  names ;  and  they  now  occupy  many  localities,  but 
greatly  debased  by  persecution.  Indeed,  their  intermediate 
races,  and  still  more  and  more,  as  they  pass  into  the  purer 
type  of  the  Papua  or  Negro,  have  suffered,  and  continue  to 
suffer,  the  unmitigated  oppression  of  Caucasian  superiority. 
In  hot  regions,  where  a  powerful  vegetation  supplies  the 
means,  some  of  the  most  brutal  tribes,  such  as  the  Vedas  of 
Ceylon,  Cookies,  and  Goands  of  Chittagong,  east  of  the  Bra- 
maputra,  reside  in  trees,  with  little  more  contrivance,  or  the  use 
of  reason,  than  is  evinced  by  Chimpanzees,  the  great  apes  of 
Africa.  The  Pouliahs  of  Malabar  are  no  better,  for  they  also 
form  a  kind  of  nests,  in  trees,  beyond  the  reach  of  elephants 
and  tigers,  never  associating  with  other  nations,  and  not  even 
permitted  by  the  Hindoos  to  approach  within  one  hundred 
yards.  In  open  mountain  country,  these  nations  are  more 
commonly  troglodytes,  dwellers  in  natural  grottos ;  and  only 
in  colder  regions  inhabitants  of  caves,  excavated  by  their  own 
industry.  Mat  tents,  bark  and  skin  huts,  belong  to  a  third 
class;  and  all  are,  or  have  been,  cannibals  ;  but  this  appears  to 
be  a  condition  of  existence  which,  at  some  time  or  other,  was 
a  habit  in  the  highest  and  noblest  races;  for  human  sacrifices 
are  always  the  last  symptom  of  the  expiring  custom.* 

To  the  east  of  the  Indus  we  find  the  primeval  nations  of 
India  sometimes  typified,  in  mythological  poems,  by  Hanuman 
and  his  monkey  followers ;  but  historically  shown  to  designate 
certain  human  tribes,  since  the  Ranas  of  Odeypoor,  heads  of 
the  Sesodya  tribe,  noblest  of  the  Rajpoots,  claims  to  be 
descended  from  the  monkey  god,  which  they  pretend  to  prove 
by  a  peculiarly  elongated  structure  of  the  coccyx  in  their 
family.  The  claim  establishes  much  more  clearly,  that  the 
Bheels  of  this  region,  primeval  inhabitants,  and  still  the  most 
numerous  portion  of  the  population,  were  the  chief  means  of 

*  The  Mexican  sovereigns,  in  the  time  of  Cortez,  were  still  obliged,  by 
law,  to  taste  human  flesh  once  in  the  year.  The  Goands  do  the  same  as 
i  religious  behest. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  189 

conquest  in  the  wars  of  Lankadwipe  or  Ceylon ;  although  they 
nad  many  wars  with  their  more  western  conquerors.  The 
nation  is  further  mixed  up  with  Brahminical  mythology;  for 
Bhil,  the  chief  god  of  these  foresters,  slew  Heri,  one  of  the 
Pandoo  family.  Bheel  likewise  shot  Chrishna  with  an  arrow ; 
and  the  Kabandaz  of  the  same  primeval  stock  are  related  to 
have  captured  Kama.  These,  with  many  others,  extending  to 
beyond  the  Brahmaputra,  may  be  considered  as  the  physical 
Nagas  of  Sanscrit  lore ;  that  name  being  still  applied  to  the 
Cookies,  whose  inveterate  cannibalism  we  have  already  men- 
tioned ;  and  other  tribes  of  the  same  source,  such  as  the  Chong, 
extend  to  the  extremity  of  the  Malay  peninsula.1* 

The  nations  of  this  class,  mystified  in  the  records  of  tradi- 
tion, mythology  and  legends,  are  again  prominent  in  Southern 
Asia  ;  such  as  the  Nagas  and  Nishadas,  the  Acephali  of  Greek 
authors,  or  Nimreks,  Flatheads,  Dombuks,  Kakasiah,  or  Black 
Brethren;  in  Persian  lore,  they  are  the  objects  of  constant  per- 
secution and  extermination,  by  the  earliest  heroes  of  the  first 
Iranian  riding  conqueror  tribes  —  Husheng,  Temurath  Div- 
bend,  &c,  who  sometimes  vanquish  Deeves,  at  others  subdue 
the  black  tribes  of  Southern  Persia,  among  whom  there  appear 
to  have  been  one  or  more,  whose  foreheads  were  naturally,  or, 
perhaps  by  art,  greatly  depressed  —  a  character  we  shall  soon 
see  which  occurs  again  in  America.  Bones  and  crania  of  men, 
with  this  conformation,  have  been  found  in  Yemen;!  profdes 
~A  Negroes,  similarly  conditioned,  occur  in  Egyptian  figures, 
published  by  Gau  and  others ;  and  the  same  frontal  structure 
is  observed  in  portraits  referred  to  Caratchai  (black  Circassians, 
more  probably  Koords),  allied  to  the  Georgian  stock,  as  if  they 

*  There  are  tribes  of  Negroes  in  Central  Africa,  likewise  known  by  the 
name  of  Nagas  ;  and  Cookies  is  again  the  name  of  the  dark  slaves  of 
New  Zealand. 

t  Communicated  by  an  officer  who  was  employed  in  surveying  that 
coast. 


190  THE    HUMAN   S?BCIBS. 

still  bore  testimony  to  the  ancient  intermixture  with  the  black 
Colchians  mentioned  by  Herodotus. 

To  the  west  of  Persia,  the  Chna  or  Canaanites,  and  Ethio- 
pian Arabs,  before  the  inroads  of  the  Giant  Scytbic  horsemen, 
appear  to  have  belonged  to  the  same  family  (if  nations,  extend- 
ing northward  to  the  Colchians  before  named.  To  this  day 
there  remains  a  clan  of  crisp-haired  Arabs  on  the  Hieromax, 
east  of  the  Lake  of  Tiherias,  with  Mongolic  features,  by  profes- 
sion graziers,  and,  like  the  Hottentots,  destitute  of  horses.  To 
the  west,  in  Africa,  exclusive  of  the  basis  of  the  ancient  Egyptian 
population,  these  abnormal  tribes  appear  again  to  recur  in  the 
Hottentots,  Bushwanas,  Boshemans,  and  probably  Dokkos,  who 
may  be  the  pigmies  of  ancient  fable.  Certain  it  is,  that  Hebra- 
isms and  Semitic  words,  in  proper  names,  &c,  are  abundant, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Nile  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Thus, 
the  Indian  Parbatia,  Naga  tribes,  as  well  as  the  African  Bush- 
wanas, have  all  indications  of  a  remote  intermixture  with  the 
Mongolic  races;  and  this  character  is  retained  in  the  earlier 
forms  of  their  idols,  always  represented  with  crisped  hair, 
oblique  eyes,  and  ears  detached  from  the  side  of  the  head ; 
and  it  may,  perhaps,  be  traced  in  another  direction,  among  the 
swarthy  Kirguise. 


THE  ATURIAN  PALTAS  OR  FLATHEADS  OF  SOUTH  AMERICA. 

Of  all  abnormal  nations,  the  most  singular  were  those  Flat- 
heads  of  South  America,  whose  bones  and  skulls  now  remain- 
ing furnish  the  only  proof  that  a  people  with  such  strange 
conformation  of  the  cranium  have  positively  existed,  and  if  we 
could  now  ascertain  to  what  extent  they  likewise  differed  from 
the  other  typical  forms  of  man,  in  the  physiological  conditions  of 
structure  of  the  softer  parts  ;  such,  for  example,  as  the  peculiar 
epiderais  which  Monsieur  Flourens  ascribes  to  the  whole  red 
race  o{  America ;  a  quality  which  they,  as  the  most  normal  of 


THE   HUMAN   SPECTES.  191 

them,  may  have  possessed  to  a  still  greater  extent;  the  ques- 
tion would  assume  a  paramount  interest — one,  perhaps,  more 
indicative  of  a  distinct  origin  than  any  before  noticed. 

Dr.  Tschudi,  describing  this  form,  in  his  paper  on  the  ancient 
Peruvians,  remarks  on  the  flattened  occiput  of  the  cranium,  and 
observes,  "  that  there  is  found,  in  children,  a  bone  between  the 
two  parietals,  below  the  lambdoidal  suture,  separating  the  latter 
from  the  inferior  margin  of  the  squamous  part  of  the  afterhcad  ; 
this  bone  is  of  a  triangular  shape,  the  upper  a^igle  between  the 
ossa  parietalia,  and  its  horizontal  diameter  being  twice  that  of 
the  vertical.  This  bone  coalesces  at  very  different  periods  with 
the  occipital  bones,  sometimes  not  till  after  six  or  seven  years. 
In  one  child  of  the  last  mentioned  age,  having  a  very  flat  occi- 
put, the  line  of  separation  was  marked  by  a  most  perfect  suture 
from  the  squamous  part,  and  was  four  inches  in  breadth  by  two 
in  height."  In  remembrance  of  the  nation  where  this  confor- 
mation is  alone  found,  the  learned  doctor  denominated  this  bone 
Os.  Ihccb  ;  and  he  further  remarks,  that  it  corresponds  to  the 
Os.  interparletalis  of  Rodentia  and  Marsupiata. 

These  characters  had  been  previously  noticed  by  Mr.  Frank- 
lin Bellamy,  in  a  paper  read  by  him  to  the  Naturalist's  Society 
of  Devon  and  Cornwall,  together  with  remarks  which  do  not 
occur  in  Dr.  Tschudi's  communication,  and  are,  nevertheless, 
of  considerable  importance.  Comparing  the  cranium  of  two 
Titicaca  children  with  skulls  of  Europeans  of  similar  age,  he 
found  the  frontal  bone,  the  parietal  and  occipital  bones,  of  the 
former,  all  considerably  larger  than  the  latter,  elongating  the 
head  posteriorly,  and  throwing  back  the  whole  skull.  This 
peculiarity  was  greatest  in  the  cranium  of  an  infant,  not  many 
days  old,  and  lessening  with  growth  in  the  older  head  ;  there- 
fore it  was  not  absolutely  the  result  of  bandages ;  because  the 
natural  effect  of  these  would  tend  more  to  increase  than  to 
decrease  this  result.  From  the  small  flattened  forehead  there 
could  not  be  much  space  for  the  anterior  lobes  of  the  brain. 
The  orbits  were  exceeding  strong,  with  a  somewhat  elevated 


192  NATURAL   HIST0B1 

ridge,  and  the  bones  of  the  face  harder  and  more  solid  than 
those  which  were  produced  for  corapari  on.  Dr.  Lund  like- 
wise observed  the  incisor  or  molar  teeth  of  adult  -  to  be  worn  to 

flat  crowns  —  a  character  which  occurs   also  in  som<'  an 
Egyptian  jaws,  and  in  heads  of  Guanche  mumrj 

Here,  again,  we  have  characters  so  marked  and  decisive,  that 
if  the  case  were  applied  to  a  lower  animal,  Bystematists  would 
not  hesitate  to  place  it  as  a  Beparate  Bpeciea ;  and  the  comment  -  ol 
physiologists  who  refuse  their  assent,  not  being  in  harmony  with 
the  admitted  definitions,  are  more  specious  than  convincing.  I 
appears  that  the  nation  to  which  this  form  of  head  was  peculiar, 
although  with  all  the  signs  of  very  low  intellectual  faculties, 
ha.!  nevertheless  made  advances  in  civilization,  which  m 
of  the  Asiatic  abnormal  tribes  have  never  even  attempted  to 
acquire.  They  built  houses  of  large  stones,  in  a  pyramidal 
form,  having  aii  upper  floor;  and,  judging  from  certain  remains 
of  their  implements,  ami  the  contents  of  their  graves,  they  were 
able  beings,  most  likely  under  the  control  of  superiors  not 
of  the  same  stock,  even  from  periods  anterior  to  the  formation  of 
the  Inca  system  of  civilization.  Mr.  Pentland,  we  believe,  first 
brought  this  singular  race  into  notice,  from  skulls  dug  up  near 
the  shores  of  Lake  Titicaca.  Dr.  Lund  found  others,  even  in  a 
fossilized  state,  in  the  interior  of  Brazil.  They  were  discovered 
in  limestone  crevices,  in  company  with  bones  of  different 
species  of  extinct  animals  ;  proving  both  the  remote  age  when 
this  form  of  man  already  existed  in  America,  and  the  extent  of 
surface  it  is  now  known  to  have  occupied.  As  the  Budha,  and 
several  other  idols  of  India,  constantly  represent  Man  with  pro- 
files taken  from  a  very  low  type ;  so,  in  America,  the  Flathead 
form  appears  to  have  had  a  commanding  influence  in  the  ideal 
divine  of  the  human  head  ;  for  the  depression  of  forehead  and 
occiput  is  found  artificially  reproduced  by  many  tribes  in  both 
the  southern  and  northern  continents  ;  and  specimens  of  these 
are  observed  among  human  remains,  buried  in  the  high  sea 
sands  of  Peru  itself;  but  these  last  mentioned  have,  in  general, 


THE    HUMAN    BPECIES.  193 

the  occiput  flattened  obliquely,  with  but  little  apparent  artificial 
anterior  depression,  evidently  the  effect  of  the  back  of  the  head 
having  been  secured  to  a  board  during  infancy,  as  is  still  a 
practice  in  the  north.  The  same  form  of  the  head  is  likewise 
observed  in  the  high-nosed  bas-reliefs  of  gods  and  heroes,  both 
sculptured  and  tooled  in  the  ancient  temples  and  buildings  of 
Yucatan  and  southern  Mexico ;  the  representations  of  a  people 
now  likewise  extinct,  and  by  the  indigenous  tribes  referred  to 
the  Giants  of  their  primeval  ages.  Tbe  account  is  not  without 
some  probability,  since  the  profiles  belong  to  a  race  entirely 
distinct  from  the  general  population  of  the  western  hemis- 
phere, and  is  only  conformable  to  tip'  high-statured  races  of 
Asia;  excepting  some  tribes  of  North  America,  who,  by 
their  traditions,  came  from  the  north-west,  are  still  of  a  lofty 
growth,  and  bear  the  aquiline  features  which  may  prove 
their  descent  from  a  kindred  race.  Several  of  these,  like 
the  Osages,  not  uncommonly  reaching  the  height  of  six  feet 
eight  inches;  but  since  the  great  disturbance  of  location,  pro- 
duced by  the  European  influx,  they  have  latterly  intermingled 
with  other  tribes,  and  are  now  fast  effacing  their  particular 
characteristics.  Perhaps  the  Yucatan  Giant  master-race  disap- 
peared, when  the  Aztecs  prevailed  in  Anahuac,  from  causes  of 
a  similar  nature.  Upon  the  whole,  the  nations  with  depressed 
foreheads,  when  under  the  guidance,  perhaps,  of  Gomerian 
masters,  seem  to  have  a  community  of  other  characters,  such  as 
constructiveness,  which  distinguish  the  Paltas  of  South  Amer- 
ica, as  well  as  the  older  Egyptians. 

REMAINS  OF  OTHER  ABNORMAL  TRIBES. 

From  the  occasional  destruction  of  whole  tribes  and  races, 
which  is  sometimes  caused,  even  in  modern  ages,  by  the  sword, 
by  contagious  diseases,  or  by  new  modes  of  life,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  vices  before  unknown,  it  is  evident,  that  numerous 
populations  of  the  human  family  have  disappeared,  without 
17 


194  NATURAL   HISTORY    CF 

leaving  a  record  of  their  ancient  existence.  We  may  .nstance 
savages  in  the  British  Islands,  who  had  (lint  knives,  a  kind  of 
earthen  pottery,  and  dwelt  in  caves.  They  were  contempora- 
neous with  hyaenas  and  lost  species,  for  their  bones  are  found  in 
the  same  deposits  ;  consequently,  they  are  older  than  the 
Cynetae,  who  preceded  the  other  Celtic  colonies  in  this  island. 

Continental  Europe  affords  instances  of  several  more,  whose 
history  is  a  blank,  although  there  remain  scattered  families, 
with  peculiar  marks  of  distinction,  in  evidence  of  the  anterior 
existence  of  communities  of  the  same  kind.  Some,  still  extant, 
seem  to  have  been  objects  of  slander  and  persecution,  under 
several  successive  social  systems,  denied  the  rights  of  common 
humanity,  without  a  comprehensible  cause,  and  even  in  defi- 
ance of  the  kindness  which  Christian  pastors  evinced  for  them. 
Others  are  still  said  to  be  untractable,  notwithstanding  the  gov- 
ernment endeavors  to  make  them  adopt  the  manners  and  duties 
of  civilized  life.  The  caves,  with  human  bones,  in  Quercy, 
already  mentioned,  belong  to  this  class.  Such  are  the  Cagots 
of  the  south-east  of  France,  by  some  asserted  to  derive  their 
name  from  the  contraction  of  Can-goth,  because  they  are  a  resi- 
due of  the  Goths,  who,  being  anciently  Arians,  were  held  in  de- 
testation by  their  neighbors;  they  were  stigmatized  as  lepers,  and 
refused  entrance  into  church  by  the  common  doors,  &c.  This 
people,  either  an  ancient  residue,  or  latterly  forced  to  a  vagrant 
life,  extended,  under  many  different  names,  to  Guienne,  Beam, 
Bretagne,  and  la  Rochelle,  being  sometimes  confounded  with 
Gypsies,  although  they  were  known  before  the  arrival  of  the 
latter,  and  even  enjoined  not  to  appear  abroad  without  tha 
mark  of  a  goat's  foot  sewed  upon  the  outer  garment.  King 
Louis  XVI.  first  ameliorated  their  condition,  and  the  French 
revolution  finally  swept  away  all  the  remaining  legal  dis 
abilities.* 

In  the  forests  of  ancient  Dauphiny,  there  exist  also  relics  of 

*  There  are  recent  accounts  of  this  people,  written  by  Baron  Ramon,  as 
well  as  ancient  notices  by  Ochenartus,  "  Vasconiae  notitia.'1  Bel  Forest 
and  Paul  Merula. 


ft 

THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  195 

another  population,  unrecorded  in  history,  but  commonly 
ascribed  to  a  Saracen  or  Moorish  origin,  stragglers  of  those 
who  invaded  France  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  century,  and 
were  unable  to  escape.  There  were  Caucones  in  the  Pelopon- 
nesus, Conconi  (drinkers  of  horse  blood),  and  Cheretani,  in  the 
Eastern  Pyrenees ;  but  they  and  the  Almogavaries  have  been 
absorbed. 

The  Chuvash,  still  found  scattered  in  the  provinces  of  Kasan, 
Sembirsk,  and  Orenburg,  in  Russia,  are  a  still  more  obscure 
race  of  men.  They  seem  to  be  the  remnant  of  a  semi-brute 
population,  which  was  scattered  on  the  arrival  of  the  moro 
intellectual  Caucasians.  In  mental  capacity,  the  Chuvashes 
are  reported  to  be  inferior  even  to  the  Ostiaks  and  Samoyedes. 
They  live  without  taking  the  slightest  notice  of  the  world 
around  them,  in  a  condition  little  elevated  above  the  orang- 
outang. While  increase  and  activity  is  everywhere  witnessed 
in  their  vicinity,  they  alone  remain  stationary ;  industry  and 
civilization  excite  in  them  no  desires,  no  wish  to  be  partakers 
of  prosperity;  none  ever  show  inclinations  to  barter,  or  to  be 
stimulated  by  gain  to  increase  the  means  of  comfort  or  of  per- 
sonal happiness,  still  less  to  learn  any  trade.  Their  counte- 
nances are  stupid,  their  habits  incurably  lazy,  and  their  religion, 
for  they  have  a  worship,  the  most  degrading  idolatry.  Their 
language  is  barbarously  imperfect,  and  their  manners  and 
customs  are  still  more  revolting.  The  Assassins,  Ansarie, 
Batenians,  Dozzim,  Laks,  and  Yezeedis  of  South-Western 
Asia,  still  persecuted,  but  not  wholly  exterminated,  are  tribes 
of  primeval  origin,  variously  mixed. 

The  Gypsies,  Zingari,  Sinde,  may  be  of  the  same  stock  as 
the  Tschinganes  at  the  mouth  of  the  Indus,  who  are  them- 
selves a  tribe  of  mixed  oriental  Negroes  and  Caucasians,  and 
are  likewise  connected  with  the  Gungas  or  Indian  Gypsies  and 
Laubes  of  Africa,  who  may  all  be  instanced  as  examples  of  the 
development  of  human  beauty,  whenever  the  typical  races  are 
crossed;  for,  while  this  result  is  impressed  on  the  whole  of 


196  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

the  Astatic  stems,  the  Laubes,  dwelling  in  the  Jaloff  country,  in 
western  Africa,  though  of  the  Zingara  race,  are  remarkably 
ugly  and  diminutive,  probably  because  they  are  unmixed  even 
with  the  Negro  tribes  around  them.  In  one  characteristic  they 
all  unite,  namely,  to  be,  by  predilection,  wanderers  without 
a  home ;  not  graziers  nor  cattle-dealers,  but  tinkers  and  pilfer- 
ers. Another  outcast  race,  in  Central  Africa,  are  the  Cumbrie 
Blacks,  whose  origin  is  still  less  known.  Though  they  are 
considered  to  be  genuine  Negroes,  they  are  not  permitted  to 
have  a  national  existence,  but  are  treated  as  slaves  by  all  the 
other  tribes  in  Yaouri  and  Engarski.  This  fact  is  sufficient  (o 
prove  them  of  a  distinct  origin,  and  their  present  character  to 
be  superinduced  by  the  lust  and  lawlessness  of  conquest  and 
oppression. 

The  Guanches,  perhaps  identical  with  the  ancient  inhabi- 
tants of  Fernando  Po,  both  sallow  nations ;  the  first  latterly,  the 
second  not  yet  extinct,  appear  on  the  skirts  of  Africa,  as  rem- 
nants of  a  race  of  tenants  of  the  soil,  before  the  expansion  of 
the  Negroes. 

The  cannibal  Ompizee  of  Madagascar,  or  copper-colored  sav- 
ages, who  fed  upon  each  other  till  they  are  nearly  or  perhaps 
now  entirely  destroyed,  may  have  belonged  to  the  same  stock, 
for  they  have  no  national  affinities  with  any  other  people  of  the 
island.  We  may  mention  here  the  Benderwars,  a  Joand  tribe 
on  the  Nerbudda,  who  devour  their  aged  and  sick  in  honor  of 
Kali ;  the  Ogres  or  Gholes  of  Bajahstan,  known  by  the  name 
of  Rakshassas,  Pisachas,  or  Bhutas,  Aghori,  Mardikohrs,  &c, 
feeders  on  human  carrion,  whose  habits  are  already  mentioned 
by  Ctesias,  and  are  still  not  entirely  extinct.  Other  tribes 
there  are,  equally  aberrant,  almost  as  degraded  in  mind  and 
form,  but  caused  by  the  wretched  conditions  of  their  existence, 
or  by  an  apathy  of  character,  which  no  force  of  example  or 
change  of  circumstances  seems  to  affect ;  such  are  the  Samang 
Dwarfs  of  the  Malayan  mountains,  and  the  black  Inagta  of  the 
island  of  Lasso,  whose  stature  seldom  exceeds  four  feet  eight 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  197 

inches.  It  will  be  an  interesting  object  of  consideration  for 
anatomists,  who  may  be  placed  in  favorable  conditions  for 
observation,  to  examine  the  brain  of  children  belonging  to  these 
races  in  the  foetus,  and  particularly  after  birth,  as  it  may  be 
expected  to  display  a  still  more  imperfect  state  than  that  of  a 
Negro  infant. 


The  foregoing  discussions  have  chiefly  had  for  object,  to 
offer  some  points  relating  to  the  physical  history  of  man, 
which,  it  appears,  have  not  as  yet  been  viewed  in  the  light 
here  shown ;  perhaps,  because  the  facts  relating  to  them  are 
uninteresting  and  few,  or  are  concealed  under  a  dense  veil  of 
tradition  and  figurative  mystification,  with  only  occasional 
glimpses  that  can  be  appreciated,  and  therefore  difficult  to 
grasp,  and  uncertain  in  the  application ;  still,  when  collected 
into  somewhat  of  a  series,  give  consistency  to  conjecture,  and 
frequently  bestow  upon  it  most,  if  not  all,  the  conditions  of  his- 
torical truth.  As  we  proceed,  names  of  nations  and  tribes 
above  indicated  among  the  unassignable  in  the  family  cogna- 
tions of  man,  may  again  appear  with  more  detail,  clothed  in 
the  form  they  seem  to  have  passed  into,  and  become  known 
and  well-defined  races. 
17* 


198  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 


THE  TYPICAL  STOCKS. 

COMPARISON   OF  PHYSICAL    POWERS,  AND  STRUCTURAL  DIF- 
FER K.N  CFS  OJF  Till:  TYPICAL  STOCKS. 

Let  us  now  proceed  to  review  the  structural  characl 
tics  of  man,  in  their  general  application  to  the  distinction  of 
species,  varieties,  or  Among  these,  Camper's  observa- 

tions on  the  facia]  angle  which  distinguishes  the  three  typical 
races,  taken  in  a  general  view,  are  most  important.  The  human 
head,  seen  vertically,  or  from  above,  conceals,  in  the  Cau< . 
form,  nearly  every  part  of  the  facial  surface;  whilst  the  same 
view  of  the  woolly-haired  type  demonstrates  the  narrow 
and  obliquity  of  the  forehead,  by  exposing  the  greater  part  of 
the  face.  A  smaller  obliquity  may  be  observed  in  the  cranium 
of  the  Mongolic  stock,  but  differing  from  both  the  preceding  by 
the  lateral  expansion  of  the  cheek-bones.  Hence  the  facial 
angles,  taken  by  drawing  a  line  from  the  opening  of  the  ear  to 
the  nostril,  bisected  by  another  line  dropped  from  the  promi- 
nent part  of  the  forehead  to  the  most  advanced  edge  of  the 
upper  jaw,  taken  on  the  profile  view  of  the  head,  produce  an 
angle,  which,  according  to  the  number  of  degrees  it  is  found  to 
open  in  Camper's  hypothesis,  advances  the  forehead  towards  a 
vertical  structure,  gives  prominence  to  the  anterior  lobes  of  the 
brain,  and  consequently  develops  intellectual  capacity.  But 
this  criterion,  though  generally  true  in  all  mammalia,  if  the 
question  be  referred  to  man,  is  liable  to  the  objection,  that 
whole  races  have  the  orbital  crests,  at  their  junction  on  the 
lower  edge  of  the  frontal,  so  prominent  as  to  prevent  the  facial 
lines  touching  the  forehead,  which  from  that  point  falls  sud- 
denly, both  in  the  natural  structure  of  the  flat-headed  nations 
of  Asia,  and  in  the  heads  by  nature  or  artificially  depressed, 
such  as  occur  in  America.  In  other  respects,  where  the  facial 
line  can  be  drawn  fairly,  there  is  no  doubt  of  the  general  cor- 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  199 

rectness  of  the  principle,  provided  a  vertical  view  upon  the 
skull,  according1  to  Blumenbach,  and  another  upon  its  base  — 
the  lower  jaw  being  removed  as  recommended  by  Professor 
Owen  —  be  likewise  employed  to  form  a  comparison.  The 
highest  intellectual  bearded  nations  present,  by  the  Camperian 
method,  individuals  rising  to  eighty-five  and  even  nearly  to 
ninety  degrees.  These  are,  for  example,  occasionally  observed 
in  the  Teuto-Sarmatian  nobles,  and,  more  rarely,  in  other 
European  nations;*  but  beyond  the  perpendicular  line  of  fore- 
head,  there  occur  only  indications  of  morbid  development,  and 
ideal  exaggerated  profiles  of  Greek  divinities,  whose  over- 
hanging brows,  and  deep-seated  eyes,  produce  the  effect  of  a 
calm  shadowy  frown,  which  we  learn  to  view  as  an  attribute 
of  majesty  and  conscious  power.  Much,  however,  and  indeed 
the  essential,  in  all  mental  constitution,  must  depend  upon  the 
proportions  of  the  cerebral  structure  being  in  sufficient  harmony 
for  their  rational  operation  ;  and  this  condition  is  found  pre- 
served, without  material  injury  to  ratiocination,  where  both  the 
anterior  and  posterior  portions  of  the  brain  are  distorted  by- 
artificial  pressure  in  infancy,  or  where  the  volume  is  small,  by 
the  retreating  low  angle  of  the  forehead ;  whether  or  not  the 
case  applies  to  a  whole  race,  or  to  an  occasional  individual 
among  the  bearded  tribes. 

It  appears  that  individual  interunions  between  the  typical 
races  not  only  tend  to  the  superior  development  of  form  and 

*  In  a  series  of  portraits,  representing  Polish,  East  Prussian,  Silesian, 
Bohemian,  and  Moravian  nobles,  they  occur  frequently.  The  late  Count 
Harach,  from  our  personal  knowledge,  was  remarkable  for  this  feature  ; 
i.  e.,  a  lofty  and  broad,  very  nearly  vertical  forehead;  and  it  must  be 
added,  that  many  so  distinguished,  were  conspicuous  as  statesmen  and  war- 
riors, probably  all  as  ambitious  men.  It  were  to  be  wished  that  portrait 
painters  paid  more  minute  attention  to  this  object — we  mean,  placing  the 
aperture  of  the  ear  in  relation  to  the  nostril.  It  is  important  to  them  for 
the  sake  of  truth,  and  to  the  physiologist  for  the  same  reason;  since, 
without  accuracy,  he  cannot  draw  fair  conclusions  from  painted  human 
likenesses. 


200  NATURAL  HISTORY   OF 

capacity  in  the  offspring,  but  that  the  same  tendency  continues 
to  operate  between  different  tribes;  the  constant  crossing  of 
Celtic  with  Teutonic  blood,  upon  a  Perso-Arabian  basis,  being 
per. laps  a  principal  cause  of  the  early  progressive  civilization 
of  Southern  and  Western  Europe;  and  the  stationary  charac- 
ter, chiefly  observed  in  the  Mongolic  race,  being  a  result  of  the 
want  of  the  same  acting  cause.  Notwithstanding  the  desire 
of  the  beardless  type  to  violate  its  own  prohibitory  laws,  inter- 
marriage with  Caucasian  women  is  decidedly  more  sterile  than 
the  union  of  the  bearded  and  woolly-haired  sexes.  Where 
human  laws  prevent  intermarriage,  nature  endeavors  to  be 
avenged  through  the  more  powerful  operation  of  the  passions, 
by  means  of  interunion  with  foreign  slaves,  by  abduction,  and 
by  child-stealing;  whence  results  a  certain  restoration  of  the 
balance.  There  are  localities  in  Europe,  where  the  frequent 
intermarriages  of  the  same  families  produce  constantly  indi- 
viduals defective  in  constitution,  mind,  or  limbs. 

Without  intermixture  of  races,  the  ratiocination  of  mankind 
appears  inoperative  to  certain  particulars  in  life.  Nomad 
nations  may  not  wander  with  their  cattle  solely  from  inclina- 
tion. Necessity  is  the  first  cause.  But  there  are  tribes,  such 
as  we  have  already  named,  who  are  not  to  be  taught  by 
example,  or  by  the  advantageous  results  of  undertaking  certain 
things  that  their  inclinations  reject.  The  Jews  probably  never 
were  a  truly  agricultural  people,  working  with  their  own 
hands.  The  Veneti,  Heneti,  Gwyniad,  or  Ventae,  were  always 
the  real  commercial  pedlers  of  antiquity.  The  Armenians  are 
nationally  merchants,  from  London  to  Bokhara.  Neither  were 
ever  warriors ;  they  traded  solely ;  and  the  last  mentioned  con- 
tinued to  act  on  the  same  principle.  They  lived  under  the 
shield  of  the  strongest  warlike  people  that  would  protect  them ; 
the  first,  under  Etruscans,  Gauls,  and  Romans,  till  the  fall  of 
the  Western  Empire  ;  and  the  second,  under  still  existing  gov- 
ernments. Some  nations  decline  the  use  of  horses ;  others 
abhor  the  plough  or  a  sea   life.     The  Gypsies  are  always 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  201 

tinkers.     These  predilections  must  therefore  depend  on  modi- 
fications of  the  brain. 

That  *.he  volume  of  brain  is  in  relation  to  the  intellectual 
faculties,  is  clearly  proved  by  Dr.  Morton's  researches,  who, 
having  fil'.ed,  for  this  purpose,  the  cerebral  chamber  of  skulls 
belonging  to  numerous  specimens  of  the  Caucasian,  Mongolian, 
Malay,  American,  and  Ethiopian  (Negro)  stock,  with  seeds  of 
white  pepper,  found  the  first  the  most  capacious,  and  the  Ethi- 
opian the  smallest;  though  there  may  be  some  doubt  whether 
the  Negro  crania  that  served  for  his  experiment,  were  not,  in 
part  at  least,  derived  from  slaves  of  the  Southern  States  of 
North  America,  who,  being  descended  from  mixed  African 
tribes,  and  much  more  educated,  have  larger  heads  than  new 
Negroes  from  the  coast.  We  have  personally  witnessed  the 
issue  of  military  chacos  (caps)  to  the  2d  West  India  Regiment, 
at  the  time  when  all  the  rank  and  file  were  bought  out  of 
slave  ships,  and  the  sergeants  alone  being  in  part  white,  men 
of  color,  Negroes  from  North  America,  or  born  Creoles,  and  it 
was  observed,  that  scarcely  any  fitted  the  heads  of  the  privates 
excepting  the  two  smallest  sizes ;  in  many  cases  robust  men, 
}f  the  standard  height,  required  padding  an  inch  and  a  half  in 
thickness,  to  fit  their  caps ;  while  those  of  the  non-commis- 
sioned officers  were  adjusted  without  any  additional  aid. 
Though,  on  one  hand,  it  is  here  stated  that  the  Negroes  from 
the  coast  of  Africa  were,  in  all  probability,  still  less  favored 
than  the  measurements  of  Dr.  Morton  proved ;  it  is,  on  the 
other,  equally  true,  that  the  progress  of  development,  and  the 
elevation  of  the  forehead,  in  the  mixed  offspring  between  the 
woolly-haired  and  white  races,  is  often  effaced  in  a  second 
generation.  It  is  so  always  much  sooner  than  the  apparently 
insignificant  characters  of  the  color  of  the  skin,  and  the  crisp- 
ness  of  the  hair,  which  are  never  totally  obliterated  till  after  the 
fourth  generation,  when  the  African  character  may  be  deemed 
absorbed.  It  is  advanced  as  established,  that  an  accidental 
effect  in  the  external  characters  of  an  individual  may  become 


202  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

permanent  in  a  nee.  But  accidental  appearances  must  have 
a  cause,  and  terminate  when  that  cause  disappears.  Men 
covered  with  hair,  or  with  a  horny  skin,  may  reproduce  this 
character  in  their  offspring;  but  then  it  is  exceptional  and  dis- 
appears in  the  next  generation.  Albinism  is  more  evident, 
and  therefore  believed  to  be  more  frequent  in  the  woolly-haired 
races  of  man ;  but  in  the  sandy  plains  of  the  north-west  of 
Europe,  the  same  appearances  occur,  though  not  quite  with  the 
marks  of  disease;  it  is  mere  absence  of  coloring  matter  in  the 
system.  Among  Mongolic  nations  it  is  unknown,  or  very 
rare,  and  it  is  equally  so  with  the  aboriginal  tribes  of  America. 
The  stature  of  mankind  is  unquestionably  influenced  by  the 
adequate  supply  of  wholesome  food ;  and  hence  the  civilized 
nations  of  moderate  climates  are  more  generally  of  an  equal 
standard  than  barbarians  and  savages,  among  which  the 
hunter  and  pastoral  nomad  tribes  arrive  at  the  greatest  stature. 
But,  in  these  cases,  a  Caucasian  element  may  be  expected  to 
be  present,  whether  we  take  the  Miao-tze  of  China,  the 
Caffres  of  Eastern  Africa,  the  Patagonian  Araucas  of  South 
America,  or  the  Creeks  and  other  tribes  in  the  north.  For,  if 
some  latent  cause  of  this  kind  did  not  produce  the  difference, 
all  other  tribes  in  the  same  climate,  and  under  similar  condi- 
tions of  food  and  mode  of  life,  would  acquire  a  similar  height; 
yet  this  is  not  the  case ;  and  it  is  even  known,  in  both  the 
Americas,  that  the  union  of  two  tribes,  differing  in  this  respect, 
has  produced,  in  one  generation,  the  disappearance  of  a 
superior  growth.  Ancient  history  likewise  represents  the 
northern  Gauls  (Belgae),  and  the  Teutonic  nations,  as  far 
superior  in  stature  to  the  civilized  Romans,  though  they  do  not 
appear  in  their  barbarous  habits  to  have  been  better  fed  than 
the  tall  tubes  of  North  America.  In  gracefulness  of  propor- 
tion, the  American  mixed  white  races  with  Negroes,  both  of 
French  and  British,  and  still  more,  of  Spanish  origin,  yield  to 
none  in  any  part  of  the  world ;  and  it  is  a  mistaken  notion  to 
believe  in  the  assertion  that  the  standard  contour  of  beauty 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  203 

and  form  differs  materially  in  any  count-/.  Fashion  may 
have  the  influence  of  setting-  up  certain  deformities  for  perfec- 
tions, both  at  Pekin  and  at  Paris,  but  they  are  invariably  apol- 
ogies which  national  pride  offers  for  its  own  defects.  The 
youthful  beauty  of  Canton  would  be  handsome  in  London ; 
and  the  Tahtar  nations,  in  the  days  of  their  conquering  career, 
married  the  daughters  of  semi-Caucasian  nomad  princes,  or 
notoriously  selected,  for  their  chiefs,  the  same  class  of 
European  or  Caucasian  forms  as  they  still  purchase  from  Cir- 
cassia  and  Persia,  Afghanistan,  Cashmere,  and  India.*  Lud- 
dee,  the  young  wife  of  Abba  Thule,  chief  of  the  Pelew  Islands, 
was  handsome  on  the  Caucasian  model ;  so  are  all  the  beau- 
ties of  Malay  or  other  blood  in  the  South  Sea  Islands ;  the 
most  admired  young  females  among  the  Arookas  and  the 
Caribs.  The  Chippeways  likewise  have  many  beauties  ;  and 
so  was  Harriet,  the  belle  of  Lorette  Sauvage,  a  Huron  village 
near  Quebec.  In  all  these  cases,  both  Europeans  and  natives 
agreed. 

Human  growth,  according  to  Professor  Quetelet,  is  not  com- 
pleted until  the  twenty-fifth  year,  at  least  in  Belgium ;  but 
this  period  is  supposed  to  be  shorter  in  other  countries;  cer- 
tainly so  within  the  tropics,  and  in  very  warm  regions,  where 
development  and  decay  are  universally  allowed  to  be  more 
rapid. 

Weight  is  another  element  in  the  consideration  of  races,  as 
this  quality  materially  influences  physical  strength,  and  conse- 
quently bestows  confidence,  enterprise  and  success.  An 
instrument,  the  dynamometer,  has  been  invented  to  measure 
the  relative  scale,  and  they  have  shown  savage  nations  to  be 

*  It  is  from  these  sources  that  the  energetic  innervation  was  principally 
derived,  which  gave  birth  to  the  great  Toorkce  Mongole  conquerors,  both 
in  the  west  and  in  China.  Siich,  for  example,  was  Alancona,  wife  of  Pe- 
souka  Bahander,  of  the  Niron  Toorkee  tribe  of  smiths  ;  Purtan  Cciigine, 
daughter  of  Conjorat  Khan,  the  ambitious  wife  of  Genghis,  and  Toora- 
kina  Catan,  wife  of  Octai. 


204  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

strong  in  proportion  to  the  abundance  and  wholesomeness  of 
the  food  they  possess;  but  in  all  cases  hitherto  examined, 
civilized  Europeans  surpassed  them;*  and,  it  appears,  English 
exceeded  French ;  or  perhaps  more  correctly,  the  Teutonic 
stock  surpassed  the  Celtic,  both  in  strength  and  weight, 
although  the  Irish  Celts  are  said  to  be  taller  and  heavier  than 
the  English  Saxons.  As  yet,  no  great  stress  can  be  laid  on 
results  obtained  from  an  imperfect  instrument,  partial  inquiries, 
and  questionable  nationalities;  still,  enough  is  determined 
to  reject  an  opinion,  often  prevalent,  that  the  moderns  are 
degenerate  when  compared  with  their  ancestors.  The  conclu- 
sion is  further  controverted,  by  an  experiment  made  at  Good- 
rich Court,  where  the  splendid  collection  of  ancient  armor  is 
classified,  with  rigorous  attention,  both  to  date  and  nation,  by 
Sir  Samuel  R.  Meyrick,  the  enlightened  and  munificent  pos- 
sessor. Two  gentlemen,  one  of  middle  stature,  with  ample 
chest  and  shoulders,  and  the  other  somewhat  taller,  but  of 
more  slender  structure,  endeavored  to  find  armor  sufficiently 
large  to  fit  either  one  or  the  other,  and  failed,  in  a  collection 
where,  we  believe,  they  had  a  choice  of  upwards  of  sixty  com- 
plete suits  of  plate,  all  defensive  armor,  which  nevertheless  had 
been  worn,  in  preceding  centuries,  by  chivalry,  and  persons  of 
distinction,  in  England,  France,  Germany,  and  Italy.  Hence 
King  John,  Petit  Jean  de  Saintre,  the  Constable  of  Bourbon, 
the  Prince  of  Conde,  ("  ce  petit  homme  tant  joli,")  and  Nicolo 
Piccinino,  were  not  the  only  valiant  men  of  small  proportions 
in  the  feudal  ages.  At  the  present  period,  the  British  upper 
classes  are  probably  of  higher  stature  than  the  aristocracy  of 
any  other  civilized  people;!  but  taken  nationally,  the  Prussian 

*  The  strongest  North  American  Indians  are  asserted  to  fail  against 
the  ordinary  power  of  wrist  of  Europeans  ;  that  is,  when  each  side  place 
the  right  elbow  to  elbow,  and  cross  the  fingers  through  each  other's  hand, 
striving  to  bend  the  opposing  wrist  hack.  The  fact  was  established  by 
the  60th  Regiment  in  Canada. 

t  Mr.  Laurence,  in  his  work  on  the  Natural  History  of  Man,  may  have 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  205 

and  all  the  fair-haired  natives  of  the  north-west  of  Europe,  are 
of  greatest  height,  since  the  standard  size  for  the  military- 
service  is  above  that  of  any  other  people  in  Europe.  Northern 
Chinese,  or  Highland  Tahtars,  we  have  been  informed  by  a 
general  officer  who  served  in  the  late  war,  were  found  to  be 
fully  equal,  in  stature  and  bulk,  to  our  stoutest  grenadiers;  but 
we  have  since  learned,  from  another  officer,  that  when  these 
men  appeared  on  the  field,  they  were  found  to  be  Miao-tze,  — 
that  is,  a  people  of  Caucasian  or  Caucaso-Malay  origin. 

Elasticity  of  frame  is,  however,  a  quality  very  distinct  from 
weight  and  strength.  The  Caucasian  of  Europe  is  trained  to 
harder  manual  work  than  other  races;  but  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  he  could  ride  continuously,  like  the  Turkish  Talitar 
messengers,  or  Persian  Chuppers ;  or  whether  he  could  sustain 
the  fatigue  of  such  unceasing  marches  as  the  aboriginal  Ameri- 
can warriors  perform,  or  run  on  foot  with  the  speed  of  Bechuana 
Hottentots,  or  even  compete  with  New  Hollanders,  the  most 
slender-limbed  race  on  earth.  When,  therefore,  comparative 
trials  of  strength  are  made  with  other  nations,  the  selection  of 
the  modes  should  not  be  more  than  one  half  in  favor  of  those 
which  Europeans  are  most  inured  to.  Captain  Cook  found  his 
seamen  unequal  to  a  boxing  contest  with  Hapaceans.  There 
have  been  Negroes  able  to  dispute  the  sparring  championship 
of  the  English  fancy  ring;  and  beside  the  porters  of  Constanti- 
nople and  Smyrna,  celebrated  for  prodigious  strength  of  loins, 
there  are  Pehlwans,  professed  wrestlers,  in  middle  Asia,  whose 
physical  powers  are  certainly  equal  to  any  Europe  can  produce. 
It  is  not  by  comparing  French  or  British  seamen,  as  Peron  did, 
with  natives  of  Van  Diemen's  Land,  New  Hollanders,  or 
Timorians  of  torrid  regions,  —  all  notoriously  of  small  bone 
and  light  weight,  —  that  a  true  estimate  can  be  obtained  of  the 

easily  found  Englishmen  of  six  feet  and  more  in  height,  and  Negroes 
below  that  standard  j  but  had  he  visited  tropical  market-places,  and  com- 
pared the  stature  of  our  planters  and  sailors  by  that  of  the  Negroes,  he 
would  most  likely  have  found  the  white  men  the  smallest. 

IS 


206  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

relative  strength  of  savages.  The  experiment  sh:»ultl  be  tried, 
likewise,  with  Caffres,  Patagonians,  Araucanos,  and  Osages, 
notwithstanding  these  nations  train  their  powers  more  to  active 
exertions  of  body  than  to  heavy  manual  toil;  for  if  the  trial 
were  made  with  women,  it  may  be  expected  that,  in  most  cases, 
Europeans  would  be  inferior  to  savages,  excepting  those  who 
are  particularly  destitute  of  food ;  or  if  it  were  made  between 
populations  of  the  bearded  race,  such,  for  example,  as  French 
Canadian  boatmen  and  English  laborers,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
the  last  mentioned  would  as  greatly  surpass  the  first,  in  the  toil 
of  agricultural  labor,  as  they  would  be  outdone  by  them  in  the 
lasting  exertions  of  poling, —  that  is,  pushing  boats  up  the  cur- 
rent of  rapid  streams  by  the  help  of  poles. 


INTELLECTUAL  AND  MORAL  CHARACTERS  OF  THE  TYPICAL 

STOCKS. 

Confining  the  number  to  three,  because  they  alone  are  pos- 
sessed of  the  extremes  of  difference  in  structure  and  color,  and 
because  they  have  received,  as  before  stated,  centres  of  exist- 
ence where  the  others  cannot  predominate,  we  shall  find  pro- 
ceeding from  them  sub-typical  stems,  always  interposed  at  the 
geographical  points  of  contact  between  the  two  nearest  types 
and,  further  on,  third  and  fourth  branches,  or  races  and  nations, 
consisting  of  more  divergent  forms,  which  have  combined  the 
characters  of  all  the  three  in  greater  or  less  proportions  ;*  while 
over  the  whole  are  spread  adventitious  distinctions,  sprung 
from  changes  of  climate,  latitude,  food,  mode  of  life,  and  the 

*  The  ancients,  in  several  of  the  trinal  combinations  which  play  in 
their  doctrines,  seem  to  have  an  allusion,  perhaps  unwittingly,  so  far  as 
the  Greeks  were  concerned,  to  the  three  typical  stocks,  in  the  evocation 
of  Hecate,  (a  Scythian  divinity)  ;  for  the  ceremony  demanded  a  waxen 
triform  image,  whereof  one  was  to  be  white,  the  second  red,  and  the 
third  black.  These  indications  are  significant  on  a  spot  such  as  Tauris, 
notwithstanding  the  usual  explanation,  which  refers  them  to  the  triune 
doctrines  of  India. 


THE    HUMAN    Si'ECIES.  207 

innumerable  other  influential  conditions  of  existence,  —  con- 
ditions that  affect,  though  in  a  less  degree,  the  typical  structure, 
the  external  appearance  of  Man,  and  that  acquire  a  deep-seated 
poAver  over  his  intellectual  faculties,  in  their  possible  develop- 
ment, and,  consequently,  also  in  their  contraction,  externally 
observable.  Therefore,  in  reasoning  upon  them,  we  must  be 
guarded  against  certain  prepossessions  of  self-esteem,  which 
the  educated  man  of  the  bearded  stock,  and,  indeed,  mankind 
in  general,  is  apt  to  entertain  of  strangers;  for  the  same  ten- 
dency is  ever  at  work  between  nation  and  nation,  and  between 
every  sub-division  of  the  human  family,  however  formed.  In 
the  description  of  characters,  scientifically  taken,  we  can  only 
point  out  what  they  are,  without  having  the  power  of  stating 
what  may  be  eventually  evolved ;  and  though  already  assured, 
even  with  the  apparently  most  degraded  nations,  that  moral 
rectitude  is  fully  understood,  nay,  often  put  in  practice,  by  the 
savage,  to  the  disgrace  of  the  rapacious  Christian  who  visits 
his  abode ;  not  ashamed  to  use  knowledge  for  the  purpose  of 
deception  and  illusions  for  his  own  gain,  though  the  conse- 
quences carry  destruction  to  his  victims.  When  bearing  in 
mind  what  our  own  remote  progenitors  were,  we  must  allow 
that  all  men,  and  all  races,  bear  within  them  the  elements  of  a 
measured  perfectibility,  probably  as  high  as  the  Caucasian; 
and  it  would  be  revolting  to  believe  that  the  less  gifted  tribes 
were  predestined  to  perish  beneath  the  conquering  and  all- 
absorbing  covetousness  of  European  civilization,  without  an 
enormous  load  of  responsibility  resting  on  the  perpetrators. 
Yet  their  fate  appears  to  be  scaled  in  many  quarters,  and 
seems,  by  a  preordained  law,  to  be  an  effect  of  more  mysterious 
import  than  human  reason  can  grasp.^ 

*  Tiicrc  is,  however,  a  great  distinction  to  be  drawn  between  conquest 
that  brings  amelioration  with  it  to  the  masses  of  the  vanquished,  and 
extermination,  which  leaves  no  remnant  of  a  broken  people.  It  seeras  the 
first  condition  is  only  awardable  to  the  great  typical  stocks,  effecting 
incorporations  among  themselves  ;  the  second  almost  invariably  the  lot  of 
the  intermediate,  which,  in  most  favorable  cases  only,  aie  absorbed. 


208  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

As,  therefore,  we  cannot  attain,  in  our  state  of  knowledge, 
satisfactory  conclusions  on  this  head,  it  becomes  the  duty  of  all 
to  assert,  at  least,  the  rights  of  humanity,  in  their  indisputable 
plenitude,  although  to  us,  in  particular,  as  mere  naturalists,  it 
is  a  bounden  duty  to  confine  ourselves  to  known  historical  and 
scientific  facts. 


PRIMAEVAL  LOCATION  OF  MAN,    OR   POSITION  OF  THE  TYPI- 
CAL STOCKS. 

As  the  more  detailed  characters  of  the  typical  stocks,  their 
real  or  primaeval  location,  and  the  diffusion  of  subsequent  races, 
cannot  be  readily  understood  without  some  retrospect  of  the 
geographical  conditions  of  the  earth,  not  only  with  regard  to 
the  convulsions  already  mentioned,  but  likewise  as  they  bear 
upon  the  position  of  the  great  chains  of  mountains,  seas,  and 
deserts,  and  tbe  direction  of  leading  rivers,  it  is  important  not 
to  overlook  them,  wherever  the  influence  they  must  have  exer- 
cised in  the  question  under  review  is  clearly  ascertainable. 

Mankind,  when  first  it  becomes  historically  known,  is  already 
diffused  over  the  greater  part  of  the  eastern  hemisphere,  and, 
probably,  far  beyond  it,  even  to  the  western ;  yet  it  appears 
to  have  departed  from  the  vicinity  of  a  common  centre,  or,  at 
least,  to  have  primaevally  formed  several  stocks,  clustered  in 
the  vicinity  of  that  high  central  region  of  Asia  which  com- 
prises the  external  rampart,  and,  perhaps,  interior  of  the  vales 
of  Thibet,  and  the  so-called  Khangai*  of  the  Gobi  desert;  for 
this  was,  approximately,  either  the  seat  of  Man's  first  develop- 
ment, so  far  as  it  can  be  now  traced,  or  the  space  where  a  por- 
tion of  human  beings  found  safety,  when  convulsions  and 
changes  of  surface,  which  may  have  swept  away  a  more 
ancient  zoology,  had  passed  over  the  earth,  and  were  introduc- 
tory to  a  new  order  of  things. 

*  Khangai,  01  oasos.  verdant  river  courses,  and  lakes,  which  occur  iu 
reveral  places. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  209 

The  Gobi  or  Shamoo  region  is  a  true  Shinar  or  Djeen,  a 
series  of  sandy  deserts,  intersected,  at  great  distances,  by  moun- 
tain ridges,  and  not  unfrequently  by  rivers  ending  in  lakes, 
which  all  naturally  tend  to  separate  small  populations,  and  to 
keep  them  isolated  so  long  as  numbers  do  not  compel  the 
inmates  to  seek  for  more  abundant  subsistence.  This  state  of 
being  urges  Man  equally  to  a  shepherd's  life  and  to  a  begin- 
ning of  agricultural  industry.  Around  this  space  can  be  traced 
several  high  mountain  systems,  bearing  the  names  of  God,  of 
Heaven,  and  of  Snow  (purity) ;  for  these  are  often  expressed 
by  the  same  words,  such  as  Himaleh,  Thianchan,  Bog,  &c, 
and  mythical  traditions,  without  geographical  localities,  where 
Pagan  nations,  at  various  times,  centred  the  habitations  of  their 
gods,  or  progenitors,  in  spaces  of  eternal  snow,  such  as  Mount 
Mem,  Kaf,  or  the  oldest  Olympus,  find  here  in  Bogtag,  Hima- 
vali,  and  the  peak  of  Himavahn,  real  geographical  positions. 
It  is  there  we  find  the  Chumutaru  peak  of  snow;  and  Somero 
purbut,  created  by  Mahadeo,  for  his  retreat  and  throne,  when, 
like  another  Jupiter,  he  fled  from  Ravan  ;  the  Hindoo  diluvian 
Titan  is  clearly  the  snowy  group  at  the  sources  of  the  Ganges. 
In  this  high  region  are  the  local  sites  commemorative  of  tradi- 
tions more  than  once  repeated,  at  successive  more  distant 
stages,  in  proportion  as  the  earliest  nations  moved  further  from 
their  original  common  centre,  or  mythical  tales  spread  onwards 
with  time.  There  is  Naubundana,  —  perhaps  Dhawalaghiri, 
—  where  the  patriarch  god  himself,  in  the  form  of  Kapila,  con- 
ducted the  ark,  and  secured  it  to  the  rock,  according  to  Hindoo 
lore ;  and,  on  the  north,  where  the  Tahtar  legend  places 
Nataghi,  the  boatman  god  of  the  mountain,  with  his  family,  in 
one  of  the  peaks  of  Altai ;  for  it  is  not  a  fact  which  always 
marks  a  pagan  source,  as  has  been  remarked,  when  Man's 
existence  is  made  to  commence  after  the  diluvian  cataclysis. 
There  is  constantly  a  record  of  antecedent  existence,  though 
not  a  history,  among  early  nations.  It  is  variously  told,  but 
18* 


210  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

not  the  less  the  same  in  substance,  in  both  hemispheres,  and  in 
the  South  Sea  Islands. 

Although,  in  Central  Asia,  no  very  distinct  evidence  of  a 
general  diluvian  action,  so  late  as  to  involve  the  fate  of  many 
nations,  can  be  detected,  still  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that,  with 
scarce  an  opposable  circumstance,  all  Man's  historical  dogmatic 
knowledge  and  traditionary  records,  all  his  acquirements, 
inventions,  and  domestic  possessions,  point  to  that  locality,  as 
connected  with  a  great  cataclysis,  and  as  the  scene  where 
human  development  took  its  first  most  evident  distribution. 

The  animals  subdued  for  household  purposes,  by  the  earliest 
nations,  are  found  upon  or  around  it  in  all  directions,  —  like 
the  Dog,  universally  spread  where  Man  resides ;  and  the  Hog, 
found  radiating  from  points,  where  the  wild  species  occur,  from 
south-east  to  north-west;  the  Horse,  Ass,  and  Camel,  in  direc- 
tions originally  commencing  from  the  west  side;  so,  again,  the 
Ox,  Sheep,  and  Goat,  still  existing  wild  in  the  form  of  more 
than  one  species  on  the  same  borders ;  whilst  even  the  Ele- 
phant walked  once  through  the  more  southern  woods  ;  and  the 
Wild  Cat,  similar  to  the  European,  now  haunts  the  same,  and 
prowls  far  onwards  m  the  north.  Of  birds,  Gallinacea,  all 
originating  in  the  south-east  of  Asia ;  several  kinds  of  poultry 
are  wild  in  the  woods ;  and  one  domesticated  species,  at  least, 
was  carried,  in  Man's  earliest  migrations,  onward  to  Egypt  and 
the  west  of  Europe,  as  well  as  to  the  furthest  islands  in  the 
South  Seas ;  perhaps  even  to  Chili,  before  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards. 

On  the  western  side,  at  least,  are  found  the  parent  plants  of 
many  fruit-bearing  trees  and  shrubs,  now  naturalized  in  Europe; 
the  walnut,  chestnut,  filbert;  the  apple,  medlar,  cherry,  and 
almost  all  the  wild  and  cultivated  berries,  and  the  vine  at  no 
great  distance.^     Wheat  and  barley,  of  more  than  one  variety 

*  The  vine  is  now  cultivated  about  Llassa,  in  Thibet,  29°  40"  north 
latitude,  and  may  also  be  indigenous. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  211 

or  species,  occur  on  the  skirts  of  the  same  central  region,  some 
thriving  at  more  than  10,000  feet  of  elevation  in  the  Himalayas 
and  in  China,  with  buckwheat  and  oats  on  the  plains  of  the 
north-west,  and  onions,  turnips,  &c,  growing  wild  in  many 
places ;  wild  flax  and  hemp  on  the  northern  plains ;  and,  in 
Cashmere,  the  valleys  even  possess  edible  gourds,  pumpkins, 
and  melons,  whereof  one  or  two  species  flourish  in  the  arid 
deserts ;  even  the  lotus,  celebrated  in  Egypt,  was  derived  from 
some  part  of  India. 

It  would  be  vain  to  look  for  so  many  primitive  elements  of 
human  subsistence,  in  a  social  state,  in  any  other  portion  of  the 
globe.  Nearly  all  of  them  were  originally  wanting  in  the 
western  Caucasus,  and  the  civilized  development  of  Egypt 
could  nof  have  occurred  without  the  possession  of  wheat,  bar- 
ley, flax,  the  leek,  garlic,  onion,  and  many  other  objects,  all 
foreign  to  Africa.*  These  can  have  been  brought  westward 
only  by  colonies  practically  acquainted  with  their  value.  In 
the  devious  course  of  the  nations  moving  westward,  the  mul- 
berry, apricot,  and  the  date  palm,  may  have  proved  an  early 
resource  to  the  traveller;  and,  further  on,  the  olive,  fig-tree, 
and  plum,  were,  no  doubt,  luxuries;  but  the  sorbus,  and,  more 
certainly,  the  citron,  were  a  later  importation  from  beyond  the 
Indus,  as  well  as  the  orange,  which  came  from  China  last  of 
all.  Rice  was,  most  probably,  a  substitute  for  corn,  first  per- 
haps cultivated  in  China,  or  Indo-China,  where  the  requisite 
heat  and  watery  soil  naturally  present  themselves.! 

On  the  west  side  of  Thibet  is  the  huge  table  land  of  Pamere, 

*  Triticum  sativum  ;  Triticum  spelta,  still  wild  near  Hamadan  ;  Hor- 
deum  vulgare,  in  Northern  India  and  Tahtary  ;  Allium  cepa,  &c,  wild 
in  various  places. 

t  In  Egytian  representations  of  tribute,  brought  by  subjugated  nations 
from  "far  countries,"  it  is  pleasant  to  remark,  among  many  objects,  liv- 
ing plants  and  shrubs,  carefully  transported  for  replanting,  and,  by  those 
accompanying  them,  are  evidently  from  an  eastern  region.  These  figures 
likewise  bear  the  Swasteca,  or  a  similar  cross,  indicative  of  a  symbolical 
creed. 


212  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

the  back-bone  of  the  world,  not  yet  distinctly  marked  in  maps; 
a  more  real  umbilicus  of  the  earth  than  any  other  of  the  sacred 
centres  of  primseval  society.  Here  is  the  mysterious  Lake 
Surikol,  at  the  source  of  the  Oxus,  where  local  belief  pretends 
that  the  Jaxartes  and  the  Indus  have  both  affluents  rising  at  no 
great  distance,  while  the  Kash-gar,  on  the  east  of  the  summits, 
flows  towards  the  rising  sun.  To  the  west  are  the  mountains 
of  Northern  Hindoo-Koosh,  the  probable  seat  of  the  first  Celto- 
Srythsc,  for  in  these  regions  was  afterwards  established  a 
Macedonian  empire,  which,  without  an  original  consanguinity 
with  the  local  nations,  could  not  have  lasted  even  for  one  gen- 
eration. 

Most  primaeval  nations  have  traditions  of  a  primordial  city 
of  the  gods,  of  the  progenitor  heroes  of  each  stem,  —  a  Babel, 
Nagara,  Pasagardas,  or  Asgard.  It  appears  that  Balkh  (Kham- 
balu*),  is,  at  least,  the  most  prominent,  so  far  as  the  western 
and  southern  nations  are  concerned,  notwithstanding  that  the 
present  Bamean,  with  the  interminable  troglodyte  habitations 
around,  may  well  represent  the  spot  where  increased  popula- 
tion, finding  insufficient  food,  would  be  excited  to  discord;  and 
an  appeal  to  force  would  naturally  end  in  the  weaker  party 
being  driven  to  exile  or  dispersion. 

Though  other  traditions  may  be  more  purely  Caucasian, 
mention  may  be  made  of  some,  perhaps,  no  less  important. 
Among  these  is  the  very  ancient  name  of  Neel-ab,  Blue  River, 
given  to  the  Indus  by  the  earliest  Semitic  tribes  in  the  east, 
and  similarly  applied  to  the  Nile  of  Egypt,  causing  that  con- 
fusion in  geographical  ideas  which  believed  the  river  of  Africa 
to  come,  by  some  unknown  way,  from  the  east,  until  the  expe- 
dition of  Alexander  cleared  up  the  error.  It  is  curious  that  the 
Sutledge  of  the  Punjab  is  still  the  Blue  River;  pointing  to 
Cashmere  (Kaspapyrus)  as  the  first  seat  of  the  Perso-Arabian 
races. 

*  The  first  Cambalu,  or  rather  Khan-balk,  is  not  Pekin.  Samareand, 
the  first  horse-fair,  and  thence  commercial  city,  is  at  no  great  distance. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  213 

The  oldest  form  of  social  existence  was  parental,  or  by  fam- 
il.es,  which  soon  expanded  into  the  patriarchal,  still  retained  by- 
nomad  pastoral  nations.  With  others  it  broke  up  by  the  sep- 
aration of  the  priestly  dignity  from  the  head  paternity  of  tribes. 
As  soon  as  dogmas  and  political  considerations  multiplied,  the 
struggle  between  authority  by  birth,  and  the  suggestions  of 
expediency,  began;  for  ambition  pleaded  the  claims  of  valor, 
justifying  them  by  surrounding  dangers  and  the  inefficiency  of 
nonage  ;  the  pontificate  demanded  an  undying  adequacy  of 
purpose,  upheld  by  sanctity  of  example  :  arguments  which, 
being  repeated  as  the  social  existence  spread  wider,  hierarchies 
were  instituted,  and  the  rights  of  pleading  the  cause  of  jus- 
tice, or  the  art.  of  healing  the  sick,  became  separated,  or  clas- 
sified into  learned  orders. 

In  religious  feeling,  a  deism,  perhaps  a  form  of  Budhism, 
can  be  traced  back  to  Central  Asia  as  early  as  the  reign  of 
Sesostris.  The  Vedas,  not  much,  if  at  all  later,  show  the  pos- 
session of  a  higher  truth  than  the  subsequent  philosophizing 
social  dogmas,  depending  upon  dualisms  and  astronomical  fan- 
cies, could  teach ;  and  those  in  the  east  have  a  more  reasoned 
cohesion  than  the  Egyptian,  and,  still  more,  than  the  Greek 
and  Roman  poetical  physicalities,  drawn  from  eastern  sources 
and  misinterpreted.  In  high  Asia  we  find  the  legends  of  Eu- 
rope extant  in  their  sources.  Many  of  the  arts  of  social  life 
are  similarly  derived  from  thence  ;  every  wave  of  invasion 
westward  bringing  new  ideas  ;  and,  in  later  ages,  the  crusad- 
ers, coming  from  the  east  with  loss  and  shame,  still  returned 
with  the  additional  information  they  had  acquired.  From 
Madagascar,  back  to  the  Indus,  we  find  a  similar  connection  , 
and,  in  the  South  Seas,  there  are  everywhere  evidences  of  an 
Asiatic  priority.  Finally,  the  western  continent  of  America  i.s 
redolent  of  Malay,  Mongolic,  Ouralian,  and  even  purer  Caucas- 
ian sources,  in  physical  as  well  as  traditional  objects. 

In  order  to  proceed  to  their  various  destinations,  each  typical 
stock  naturally  follow*  i  the  great  rivers  in  their  course,  for 


214  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

these  are  the  natural  directing  lines  of  nations  exploring  the 
way  to  unknown  regions  ;  and  the  necessity  of  facilitating 
progression  is  the  cause  why  all  tribes,  however  rude,  are 
acquainted  with  some  mode  of  conveyance  by  water.  Other 
roads  were  early  indicated,  by  local  necessities,  differing  from 
the  subsequent  caravan  routes,  which  took  directions  from  and 
to  points  already  known  to  be  most  favorable  for  trafficking 
with  distant  nations,  who  had  objects  of  barter  to  exchange, 
and,  therefore,  on  both  sides,  had  an  interest  in  the  speediest 
and  safest  passage.  From  the  well-known  proceedings  of  sub- 
sequent ages,  it  is  clear  that  outcasts  and  scouts,  then  hunter 
families,  would  naturally  be  the  first  adventurers,  and  tribes 
would  follow  onwards  only  as  far  as  immediate  necessity  or 
convenience  might  dictate  ;  pushing  further  when  more  was 
known  of  the  world  before  them,  and  pressure  from  new 
colonists  urged  them  from  behind.  Starting  through  the 
gorges  of  the  great  river  outlets  to  the  plains,  and  following 
their  course,  or  ranging  along  the  flanks  of  mountain  chains, 
to  turn  deserts,  or  escape  the  necessity  of  attempting  elevated 
ridges,  or  interminable  swamps,  which  were,  or  might  be,  im- 
passable ;  while,  at  the  same  time,  water,  game,  and  wild  fruits 
would  be  most  abundant. 

Deserts  and  plains  are  never  so  absolutely  impassable  as  to 
prevent  ulterior  progress.  Water  is  found  in  some  localities, 
and  occasionally  verdure  ;  and  these  oases  are  soon  marked 
by  the  wanderer,  who  then  guides  his  family  or  moving  tribe 
along  them,  till  they  reach  a  better  region.  Impediments  of 
this  kind  are,  therefore,  incentives  to  progress,  and  generally 
much  less  obstacles  than  morasses  and  dense  forests;  for  it  is 
by  the  river  courses  alone  that  these  last  are  penetrated. 

In  the  progressive  colonization  some  leading  tribe  would  find 
a  natural  obstacle  to  retard  or  prevent  its  further  migration ; 
halting  on  the  spot,  other  clans  would  come  up ;  and  where  no 
forests  near  the  sea,  nor  a  great  stream,  would  favor  the  struc- 
ture of   rafts  or  canoes,  intercourse  occurring,  more  or  les9 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  215 

knowledge  of  the  acquirements  and  experience  each  had  gained 
would  be  the  result,  although  it  might  be  obtained  after  col- 
lision, by  much  slaughter  and  suffering,  if  not  by  the  subjuga- 
tion of  one  of  the  parties.  Yet,  out  of  these  disasters  rose 
almost  all  the  elements  of  civilization  ;  and  it  may  be  remarked, 
ai  a  fact  of  constant  occurrence,  that  human  intelligence  is  per- 
haps never  fully  awakened  to  a  progressive  social  system  from 
suffering  alone,  but  by  intermixture,  when  races  are  packed 
together  on  the  ultimate  border  of  a  sea,  checked  or  forced  to 
pass  close  upon  or  through  each  other,  and  to  appeal  to  the 
sword.  Thus,  Palestine  and  Egypt,  seated  on  the  bridge  that 
leads  into  Africa ;  Ionia  and  Greece,  on  the  ferry  of  the  Helles- 
pont; Tangier  and  Cadiz  (the  Bisepharat  of  antiquity)  ;  Bab- 
el-mandel,  the  gate  of  tears,  or  passage  into  Africa ;  even  the 
isthmus  of  Panama,  all  attest  the  fact,  together  with  an  addi- 
tional result,  which  shows  not  so  much  the  stationary  people, 
as  that  which  has  passed  on,  to  be  likewise  foremost  in  civili- 
zation. Such  was  Egypt  compared  with  Syria,  Greece  in  re- 
spect to  Asia  Minor ;  Spain  with  Africa ;  such  was  Peru  to 
Mexico  ;  and  Western  Europe  is  now,  in  comparison,  to  the 
east. 

Total  civilization  is  not  even  produced  by  the  mere  compul- 
sory mixture  of  nations  moving  in  the  same  direction ;  it 
requires  the  additional  influence  of  the  modes  of  thinking  and 
acting,  from  sources  coming  through  other  latitudes,  to  pull 
down  and  reconstruct  a  system  that  will  accept  of  a  progressive 
march  of  reasoning,  independent  of  ancestral  routine.  Had 
the  northern  nations,  by  their  own  ambitious  free  wijj,  not 
crossed  upon  the  older  migratory  movement  that  came  from 
east  to  west,  such  civilization  as  Egypt,  Greece  and  Borne 
had  conferred,  notwithstanding  that  marine  influences  had 
greatly  aided  in  the  development,  must  have  continued  sta- 
tionary, then  decayed,  until  they  fell  to  ruin.^     A  want  of 

*  The  power  of  habit,  of  educational  prejudices,  is  forcibly  seen,  in 
Christian  Rome  continuing  wild  beast  and  gladiatorial  exhibitions,  though 


216  NATURAL  HISTORY   OF 

such  concurrence,  as  already  observed,  may  be  the  sole  cause 
why  China  has  remained  stationary;  for  even  the  slight  shock 
lately  given  to  that  empire  by  Great  Britain,  has  already  had 
an  effect,  disproving  the  common  opinion  that  the  Mongolic 
mind  cannot  advance  beyond  a  certain  point.  No  people  of 
the  typical  stocks  could  arrive  at  a  progressive  social  existence, 
without  intermixture  of  one  or  more  branches  of  the  homoge- 
neous nations  of  the  bearded  and  beardless  forms ;  and  through 
these,  such  rudiments  of  advancement  as  can  be  traced  among 
the  woolly-haired,  were  likewise  engendered. 

While  nations  pushed  each  other  forward,  and  contested  the 
possession  of  desirable  territories,  sudden  extermination  of  the 
vanquished  people  generally  lent  but  trifling  aid  to  intellectual 
advancement ;  there  was  scarcely  a  desire  to  make  slaves, 
where  food  was  often  insufficiently  abundant  for  the  victors ; 
but  when  the  great  roads  of  colonization  had  been  trodden  by 
many  nations  to  the  verge  of  oceans,  the  result  was  different, 
because  by  that  time  Man  had  learned  to  subdue  the  Horse  for 
his  convenience,  whereas,  until  that  moment,  the  Ox  alone 
appears  to  have  been  used  for  the  saddle.*  This  conquest  over 
brute  power  again  commenced  in  high  Asia,  perhaps  about 
Samarkand,  but  more  certainly  on  the  great  plains  north  and 
west  of  the  central  table  land;  and  with  the  aid  of  this  valua- 
ble acquisition,  began  the  era  of  invasion  for  dominion's  sake ; 
at  first,  in  a  more  cumbrous  manner,  by  charioteering;  but, 
soon  after,  riders,  on  the  backs  of  their  horses,  passing  rapidly 
over  immense  distances,  and  almost  entirely  from  east  to  west, 
carrying  few  or  no  wives  or  children,  obtained  both  by  the 
sword,  and  even  spared  the  vanquished  male  sex,  in  order  to 
enslave  it.t 

both  had  been  repeatedly  scenes  of  martyrdom,  until  they  were  stopped  by 
a  Pagan,  held  to  be  a  barbarian,  because  he  was  a  Goth. 

*  This  was  certainly  a  practice  of  Hindoo  princes,  before  the  Horse 
appears,  and  even  long  after.  It  is  still  in  use  among  the  CafTres, 
who  ride  their  Bakeley  Oxen  in  war  ;  and  by  mendicant  fakeers  in  India. 

t  Yet  there  are  examples,  down  to  the  ninth  century,  when  Christian 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  217 

From  conquests  by  military  invasion,  there  thus  arose  privi- 
leged families  and  tribes,  a  master  class,  in  nearly  every  nation, 
marked,  even  at  present,  in  many  instances,  by  a  distinct 
exterior,  notwithstanding  that,  with  scarcely  an  exception,  it  is 
issued  from  a  cognate  stem.  Only  time  softened  the  bonds  by 
gradual  interunions,  and  by  new  conquerors  again  subduing  both 
master  and  slave.  In  Europe,  where  the  history  of  foreign 
subjugation  is  best  preserved,  there  are  instances  of  three  or 
more  having  passed  over  the  same  people,  each  in  turn  crush- 
ing the  former  privileged  orders.  All  were  originally  pastoral 
tribes,  and  they  continued  to  conquer  so  long  as  agriculture 
had  not  yet  fostered  the  other  sciences  of  civilization ;  and 
defensive  war  was  unavailing  to  scattered  husbandmen,  whose 
masters'  subdivided  power  thwarted  each  other,  and  left  the 
masses  little  worth  defending.  The  nations  who  seem  to  have 
escaped  servitude,  it  may  be  remarked,  retreated  to  mountain 
regions,  where  cavalry  had  no  advantage.  Such  are  the 
Nilgherries,  the  Yindayan  system,  the  western  or  modern  Cau- 
casus, the  Alps,  the  Pyrenees,  &c,  all  peopled  by  refugees,  not 
by  Autochtones.  Mere  insular  situations  did  not  afford  equal 
security,  because  boats  conferred  the  same  invading  facilities 
which  the  horse  produced  on  land ;  and  hence  even  the  more 
remote  South  Sea  Islands  are  not  without  a  master  race,  which, 
in  whatever  way  attention  is  turned,  will  ever  be  found  to  be 
directly  or  indirectly  of  the  Caucasian  stock,  excepting  only  in 
those  centres  of  existence  where  the  two  other  typical  forms  of 
Man  reside  ;  for  one  of  these,  sensible  of  an  inferior  innervation, 
is  possessed  of  a  well-founded  jealousy  of  the  bearded  race,  and 
by  political  precaution  endeavors  to  exclude  it,  while  the  other 
rests  secure  in  the  effects  of  climate ;  and  both  abuse  their  good 
fortune  by,  at  least,  inflicting  subjection  each  upon  kindred 
tribes;  but  much  more  restricted  in  the  extent  by  the  increasing 
progress  of  the  Caucasian. 

kings  (Franks)  could  direct  the  slaughter  of  every  male  whose  height  sur- 
passed the  length  of  the  conqueror's  sword. 

19 


218  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

West  of  Central  Asia,  all  records  agree  in  pointing  to  the 
east  for  the  direction  whence  nations  migrated.  Only  three 
exceptions  occur,  where  the  course  was  a  return  homewards 
from  anterior  progression.  Such  was  the  Hebrew  from  Egypt 
to  Palestine,  the  Ionian  from  Greece  to  Asia  Minor,  and  the 
Nogay  Tahtar  from  Russia  to  China.  If  the  Egyptians,  led 
by  a  Sesostris,  penetrated  to  Bactria,  a  fabulous  Bacchus  to 
India,  the  Gauls  to  Greece  and  Galatia,  and  the  Macedonians 
to  the  Punjab,  beyond  the  Indus,  they  were  mere  conquering 
inroads,  which  lasted  only  for  a  few  generations,  sustained  in 
some  degree  by  the  aboriginal  homogeneousness  of  the  invaders 
with  the  races  in  possession  of  the  land.  The  pseudo-Greek 
kingdoms,  notwithstanding  the  great  national  influx  of  that 
people  in  Western  Asia,  had  no  permanent  tenure ;  and  the 
Romans,  the  Crusaders,  and  the  modern  French,  have  only 
produced  military  occupations,  not  national  colonizations. 
None  are  historically  known  to  have  departed  from  the  inter- 
Pontine  Caucasus,  though  many  came  westward,  by  the  route 
of  Armenia,  with  more  or  less  delay  in  that  high  region,  because 
the  avenues  leading  south  and  west,  from  both  sides  of  the 
Caspian,  to  Asia  Minor,  Syria,  and  Africa,  mainly  pass  through 
it.* 

Had  the  first  population  of  mankind  radiated  from  the  Ara- 
rat of  Armenia  (for  the  word  is  generical),t  all  the  present 
nations  of  the  west,  whose  great  movements  are  historically 
traceable  to  the  high  Oxus  and  Jaxartes  (such  as  the  Gomerian 
Celtse,  and  the  Indo-Germans,  Yuchi  and  Sacae),  would  have 
travelled,  without  being  pressed  in  the  rear,  across  deserts,  up 
great  rivers  and  high  mountain  ranges,  before  they  multiplied, 
for  no  other  purpose  than  to  return  over  the  same  ground,  that 

*  Of  course,  the  dispersion  of  the  Jews  eastward,  and  some  more  recent 
forcible  transpositions  of  western  Caucasian  tribes  to  high  Asia,  are  not 
here  regarded. 

tin  the  Circassian  tongue,  Ararat,  Arak,  or  Areck,  simply  denctc  a 
peak. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  219 

they  might  thence  continue  still  further  west  than  they  had 
been  east,  and  delay  peopling  only  that  portion  of  the  globe 
which  is  unquestionably  the  most  important  of  the  whole ;  or 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  fetching  the  physical  elements  of  social 
life  already  mentioned,  which  western  Caucasus  never  spon- 
taneously produced,  and  to  learn,  at  a  distance,  forms  of 
speech,  fundamentally  belonging  to  the  oldest  Scythic,  or  a 
parent  Sanscrit  —  a  language  found  to  influence,  with  very 
few  exceptions,  every  known  grammatical  tongue  in  the  world, 
though,  in  its  present  shape,  it  may  be  a  mixture  of  various 
dialects.  Asiatic  early  lore  proves  this  primaeval  tongue  to 
have  originated  in  the  southern  and  western  Highlands  already 
noticed,  and  to  exist  still  in  many  idioms,  spreading  from  their 
oorder  through  India,  Indo-China,  and,  with  less  evidence,  to 
Australasia,  far  more  than  to  the  west,  in  Europe,  Persia,  and 
Syria ;  and  none  of  its  dialects  positively  belonging  to  western 
Caucasus.  The  present  Imeritians,  Circassians,  &c,  though 
they  may  have  a  just  claim  to  be  of  the  purest  bearded  typical 
stock,  like  the  Coords,  or  Gaurs,  were  originally  riding  con- 
querors, and  were  driven  into  their  present  fastnesses  at  a  com- 
paratively recent  period. 

If  we  turn  to  India,  although  the  woolly-haired  stock  may 
have  retained,  from  priority  of  diffusion,  a  typical  nucleus  with- 
in the  tropics,  expanding  even  westward,  there  is  a  master  race, 
of  a  distinct  origin,  domineering  over  the  oldest  discoverable 
tribes,  gradually  more  and  more  intermixed,  till,  from  pure 
white,  it  becomes  positively  black,  without,  therefore,  being 
deprived  of  a  superior  aspect,  which  the  Caucasian  blood  alone 
confers.  It  extends,  with  few  exceptions,  down  to  very  near 
the  equatorial  line,  where,  indeed,  contamination  is  still  observ- 
able ;  but  the  mastery  of  a  foreign  race  evidently  disappears. 
These  conditions  recur,  in  a  south-western  direction,  along  the 
Persian  and  Arabian  maritime  provinces,  and  eastern  Africa; 
the  Caucasian,  whether  brownish  or  black,  preponderating 
numerically  towards  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  exactly 


NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

in  the  ratio  structural  conformation  would  prefer,  if  left  at 
liberty.  This  intermediate  sub-typical  race,  in  all  its  shades 
of  color,  is  the  Ethiopian  of  antiquity,  and  seems  to  have 
included  those  tribes  which  were  held  accursed  by  several  of 
the  most  ancient  white  immigrators  in  Western  Asia. 

The  Mongolic  nations  record,  in  the  same  manner,  their 
descent  from  high  mountain  ranges,  and  the  early  struggles  of 
their  heroes  in  draining  marshes,  teaching  cultivation,  letters, 
and  metallurgy;  in  time,  making  even  regular  observations  on 
comets,  when  the  wisdom  of  Europe  was  hidden  in  a  howling 
wilderness,  and  long  before  science  amongst  us  assumed  a 
rational  shape.*  In  America,  all  the  tribes  that  retain  tradi- 
tions of  their  origin,  point  to  the  north-west,  with  the  exception 
of  the  extinct  Flathcads,  whose  history  is  wholly  unknown. 
They  have  propelled  each  other  cast  and  south,  although  cer- 
tain tribes  of  the  most  ancient  residents  in  the  south-east  and 
Patagonian  regions,  may  form  exceptions;  and  there  are  tradi- 
tions, even  in  Mexico,  of  marine  strangers  from  the  east ;  for 
man  soon  passed  from  fishing  on  the  lake,  or  paddling  in  a 
stream,  to  adventure  his  person  beyond  the  surf  of  seas;  and, 
when  it  served  his  purpose  for  coasting,  trusted  to  the  simplest 
materials  to  support  his  weight.  Catamarans  of  three  dry 
pieces  of  wood,  and  a  staff,  with  flattened  ends,  for  oars,  have 
been  in  use,  for  uncounted  ages,  on  the  rolling  seas  of  Madras, 
and  models  like  them  are  often  dug  out  with  the  bones  of 
ancient  Peruvians,  where  the  inhabitants  have  similar  breaking 
rollers  to  encounter.  Coracles,  made  upon  a  frame  of  twigs, 
with  the  skins  of  seals,  oxen,  and  horses,  belonged  to  most 
nations  of  the  Old  Continent;  birch  kaicks  to  the  Arctic  people 
of  both ;  and  canoes  of  solid  wood,  hollowed  out,  to  every  por- 
tion of  the  globe.  When  these  had  attained  a  certain  bulk  and 
adequacy  of  structure,  a  family  might  transport  itself  from  one 
end  of  the  world  to  the  other,  in  a  few  seasons,  merely  by 
coasting.     Thus  did  the  messenger  of  Vasco  de  Gama  pass,  in 

*  See  Biot  on  Comets. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  221 

an  open  boat,*1  from  Diu,  in  the  East  Indies,  round  the  Cape, 
to  Lisbon,  in  safety.  In  this  manner,  opinions,  languages,  and 
records,  were  transmitted,  unadulterated,  from  the  Euxine  and 
Asia  Minor,  as  far  as  Britain,  in  a  single  generation  ;  while  the 
tribes  whose  fate  it  was  to  travel  by  land,  were  compelled  to 
fight  their  way  onwards  for  ages,  gradually  losing  all  memory 
of  the  pristine  fatherland,  and  unable  to  recognize  their  ancient 
kindred,  when  they  met  again  in  the  west,  but  by  broken 
accents  of  a  once  common  language,  as  is  sufficiently  evident 
in  the  meeting  of  the  devious  tribes  of  Gomerian  Celtoe. 

In  the  view  here  taken,  mankind  might  be  primitively 
arranged  somewhat  in  the  fonn  of  the  diagram  on  page  222,  sup- 
posing the  apex  of  an  equilateral  triangle  to  point  to  the  north. 


Thus,  we  have  the  southern  line  representing  the  Himalaya 
chain,  with  its  great  streams  ending  at  the  Indian  Ocean,  the 
eastern  similarly  leading  to  the  Pacific,  and  the  western  to  a 
sea  gradually  contracted  into  the  Caspian ;  and  the  intermedi- 
ate, conducted  by  geographical  necessities,  reaching  the  South 
Seas,  the  Northern  Pacific,  and  from  thence  to  America,  the 
Polar  and  Western  Regions,  and  the  Erythrean  Seas  to  North- 
ern Africa.  Of  these,  however,  the  Caucasian  alone  bears 
evidence  of  commencing  development  upon  the  table  land,  and 
under  the  shadows  of  the  western  chains ;  the  Mongolic  being 
at  first  no  nearer  than  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  Gobi,  and 
the  woolly-haired  type  coming  up  to,  and  along  the  skirts  of 
the  southern  chain,  rather  than  commencing  primaeval  diffusion 
so  far  to  the  north  of  its  general  centre  of  existence. 

The  review  of  typical  and  sub-typical  forms  of  Man,  intended 
to  be  submitted  here,  appears  to  be  best  arranged  by  taking  in 
succession  the  woolly-haired ;  the  Malay  and  mixed  races  of 

*  It  is  supposed  that  Iago  Botello  used  a  pattemar,  or  ditch  native 
boat,  in  this  daring  voyage.  The  vessel  was  half-decked,  but  only  1 64 
feet  long,  9  broad,  and  4i  in  depth. 

19# 


222 


NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 


SOUTH    SEA    CAUCASIANS 


333110  0  1 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  223 

the  South  Seas  ;  the  American  abnormal  nations ;  the  Mon- 
golic,  or  beardless ;  and  the  Ouralian  and  Toorkee.  From 
these  we  arrive  at  the  true  Caucasian,  whose  early  history, 
being  best  known  from  the  south-east  side  of  the  central  region, 
will  require  that  first  the  mixed  semi-woolly-haired  tribes  of 
South  and  Western  Asia  be  examined,  in  order  that  the  great 
influence  and  expansion  of  the  bearded  stock  maybe  established; 
and  the  records  of  its  principal  races  will  form  the  remaining 
subject  of  consideration. 

Beginning,  therefore,  with  that  form  which  may  likewise,  on 
that  account,  be  considered  as  the  most  ancient,  we  find,  — 


THE  WOOLLY-HAIRED  TROPICAL  TYPE.* 

The  woolly-haired,  tropical,  dark-colored  stock,  improperly 
caded  Atlantic  and  Ethiopic,  is  considered  to  be  most  distinctly 
typical,  where  the  maximum  of  development  is  found,  in  the 
peculiarities  of  structure  and  faculties  that  distinguish  it  from 
the  other  normal  forms.  It  is  that  which  predominates  in 
Central  and  Western  tropical  Africa,  —  a  form  of  Man  of  good 
stature,  though  seldom  attaining  six  feet  in  height,  and  falling 

*  By  this  denomination  is  understood,  not  wool,  strictly  speaking,  but 
hair  so  highly  frizzled  as  to  appear  like  the  wool  of  Iceland  sheep,  and  in 
coarseness  so  rude,  that  the  wool  of  a  Negro  head,  struck  with  the 
knuckles,  frequently  cuts  the  skin  to  the  bone.  The  pile  of  the  beard, 
&c,  is  equally  file-like  or  lacerating.  These  effects  we  have  repeatedly 
witnessed.  Though  within  the  tropics  no  microscopes  of  sufficient  power 
were  at  hand  to  test  the  fact,  the  general  impression  was,  that  this  kind 
of  hair  is  angular,  and  we  doubt  that  Dr.  Prichard's  observations  on  the 
subject  are  wholly  satisfactory,  —  the  less  so  since  the  hair  of  the  head 
seems  to  have  been  exclusively  examined,  in  all  the  researches  we  have 
been  able  to  consult. 


224  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

as  rarely  beneath  five  feet  six;  the  facial  angle  varying  from 
65  to  70  decrees;  the  head  being  small,  laterally  compressed; 
the  dome  of  the  skull  arched  and  dense  ;  the  forehead  narrow, 
depressed,  and  the  posterior  part  more  developed ;  the  nose 
broad  and  crushed,  with  the  nostrils  round;  the  lower  jaw  pro- 
truding, angular,  but  more  vertical  in  nonage;  the  mouth  wide, 
with  very  thick  lips,  black  to  the  commissure,  which  is  red;  the 
teeth  large,  solid,  and  the  incisors  placed  rather  obliquely  for- 
ward. The  ears,  which  are  roundish,  rather  small,  standing 
somewhat  high  and  detached,  are  said,  like  the  scalp,  to  be 
occasionally  movable;  the  eyes  always  suffused  with  a  bilious 
tint,  and  the  irides  very  dark.  The  hair,  in  infants,  rises  from 
the  skin  in  small  mammillary  tufts,  disposed  in  irregular  quin- 
cunx, and  is,  in  all  parts,  of  a  crisp  woolly  texture,  except- 
ing the  eyebrows  and  eyelashes.  In  men  it  is  scanty  on 
the  upper  lip,  generally  confined  to  the  point  of  the  chin,  with- 
out any  at  the  sides  of  the  face,  excepting  in  late  manhood. 
On  the  head  it  forms  a  close,  hard  frizzle  of  wool ;  in  the  pure 
races  never  hanging  loose,  nor  rising  into  a  kind  of  mop;  and 
the  breast  sometimes  has  a  few  tufts,  but  the  arms  and  legs  are 
without  any.  The  throat  and  neck  are  muscular,  and,  with 
the  chest,  shoulders,  abdomen,  hips,  back,  upper  arms,  and 
thighs,  very  symmetrically  moulded  ;*  but,  compared  with  the 
Caucasian,  the  humerus  is  a  trifle  shorter,  and  the  forearm 
longer,  thereby  approximating  the  form  of  Simiadae.  The 
wrists  and  ankles  are  robust ;  the  hands  coarse,  with  phalanges 
rather  short,  particularly  the  thumb;  and  the  palms  are  yellow- 
ish.    The  legs  have  the  shin-bones  slightly  bent  forwards,  and 


*  The  late  Sir  Francis  Chantrey's  magnificent  cast  of  a  Torso,  taken 
from  a  Negro  in  London,  bore  ample  testimony  to  this  fact.  Our  own 
sketches  of  the  naked  figure,  drawn  during  a  residence  of  twelve  years 
within  the  tropics,  gave  so  much  additional  proof,  that  the  great  sculptor 
wras  tempted  to  copy  several  for  his  own  use.  With  regard  to  the  other 
sex,  the  tropics  alone  produce  the  combination  of  infantine  natural  grace 
with  the  full  development  of  female  maturity. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  225 

the  calves  paced  high  up;  the  feet  broad,  heavy,  squarish, 
with  the  soles  flat;  the  os  calcis  less  prominent ;  the  toes  short, 
more  equal  in  length:  and  all  the  nails  strong,  short,  and 
broad.  The  skin  is  soft,  silky  to  the  touch ;  in  the  new-born 
infant,  dull  cherry-red,  gradually  darkening  to  the  permanent 
depth  of  shade ;  beneath  the  epidermis  the  mucous  membrane, 
loaded  with  a  coloring  matter  in  the  bile,  causes  the  melanic 
appearance  of  the  skin,  which  varies,  however,  from  deep  sal- 
low to  intense  sepia  black  ;  darkest  in  health ;  and  that  color 
always  distinctly  affects  the  external  glands.  It  is  likewise 
the  source  of  an  overpowering  offensive  odor,  spreading 
through  the  atmosphere,  when  many  are  congregated  in  the 
hot  sun.  The  silky  texture  of  the  epidermis  is  more  liable  to 
erosion  from  pressure  than  that  of  white  men.  It  is  a  charac- 
ter as  organic,  or  more  so,  than  the  arched  dome  of  the  skull, 
and  the  perpendicularity  of  the  vertebral  column,  which  are 
quoted  as  the  sole  cause,  why  burthens  are  best  borne  by 
Negroes  on  the  head  instead  of  the  back ;  for  their  general 
structure  is  athletic,  the  gait  erect,  free,  and  in  young  persons 
not  ungraceful. 

It  appears  that  some  tribes  in  Dongola  and  Sennaar  have 
one  lumbar  vertebra  more  than  the  Caucasian,  and  the  stomach 
corrugated.^  In  general,  the  female  pelvis  is  wider,  the  aper- 
ture round,  and  both  sexes  have  the  hips  remarkably  well  pro- 
portioned. The  bones  of  the  typical  nations  are  heavy,  well 
knit,  or  with  the  apophyses  fitted  to  receive  broad  insertions 
of  the  muscles;  and  the  dome  of  the  skull  is  particularly  solid, 
but  the  ribs  slender  and  flexible.  Hence,  Negroes,  of  all 
human  beings,  are  distinguished  for  fighting,  by  occasionally 
butting  with  their  heads  foremost,  like  rams,  at  each  other,  the 
collision  of  their  skulls  giving  a  report  that  may  be  heard  to 

*  "  Observations  sur  les  bjttuillons  Negres  du  Cordofan  au  service  de 
Mehemet  Ali  en  Egypte  et  qui  servirent  en  Candie."  By  a  German  sur- 
geon. The  sane  remarks  are  likewise  offered,  we  believe,  by  Dr.  Mad- 
den, Travels,  &c. 


226  NATURAL   IILSTOItY    OF 

some  distance.  Even  women,  in  their  brawls,  have  the  same 
habit.  The  dense  spherical  structure  of  the  head,  liki 
enables  several  tribes  to  shave  their  crowns,  and  in  this 
exposed  state  to  remain,  with  the  lower  half  of  the  body 
immersed  in  water,  Under  a  vertical  sun.  This  very  structure 
may  influence  the  erect  gait,  which  occasions  the  practice, 
common  also  to  the  Ethiopian  or  mixed  nations,  of  carrying 
burthens  and  light  weights,  even  to  a  tumbler  full  of  water, 
upon  the  head  ;  a  feat  which  they  effect  with  perfect  safety 
and  gracefulness.* 

Most  of  the  black  nations  are  capable  of  protracted  toil, 
without  much  injury  to  their  frames;  they  willingly  share 
labor  with  the  female  sex  in  a  state  of  independence  as  well  as 
in  captivity;  they  dig,  hew  wood,  carry,  walk,  or  row,  for 
many  hours,  in  a  tropical  sun,  without  repining.  They  mul- 
tiply on  mountain  and  in  morass,  in  sterile  and  in  rich  soil, 
throughout  the  tropical  region.  Though  a  new  locality  like 
South  America  be  not  their  original  centre  of  existence,  they 
spread,  on  both  sides,  beyond  the  equatorial  belt,  over  the 
lower  degrees  of  the  temperate  latitudes ;  do  not  decrease  in 
the  presence  of  Caucasians  when  not  overworked  by  their  task- 
masters ;  and  flourish  under  the  fiercest  solar  heat,  when  other 
types  of  man  decay  or  perish.  In  constitution,  they  escape  or 
withstand  many  of  the  most  virulent  epidemics,  among  the 
rest,  small-pox,  so  fatal  to  all  the  American  races ;  and  others, 
incidental  to  the  tropics,  or  introduced  by  Europeans,  visit 
them  with  less  violence. 

In  South  America,  where  the  indigenous  tribes  diminish,  in 
regions  where  white  men  are  but  little  known,  the  Maroons 

*  Though  the  practice  is  general,  pride  nevertheless  can  counteract  it  ; 
for  we  have  invariably  seen  the  Jamaica  Maroons  carry  their  produce  to 
market  on  the  back,  and  take  their  rest  under  distinct  trees,  apart  from 
slave  Negroes,  because,  as  they  told  us,  they  would  show  themselves 
"  free  like  Buckra  man!"  A  second  jar  of  water,  Negroes  always  carry 
upon  the  palm  of  the  hand  inverted. 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  227 

or  Negroes,  escaped  from  Portuguese,  Spanish,  and  Dutch 
slavery,  increase;  they  have  established  independent  commu- 
nities in  the  swampy  regions  of  Guiana,  and,  still  more, 
between  the  rivers  Amazon,  Iza,  and  Japura,  where,  under  the 
name  of  Jurie  Negroes,  they  occupy  an  extensive  territory, 
since  they  expelled  the  Moruas  and  Maruquevare  Indians. 
These,  however,  together  with  the  Haytian,  the  Jamaica 
Maroons,  and  Guadaloupe  Quelehs,  as  well  as  all  the  West 
Indian  and  North  American  woolly-haired  populations,  being 
the  offspring  of  the  greatest  intermixture  of  different  African 
tribes,  and  not  entirely  free  of  European  and  American  Indian 
admixture,  are  excited  by  acquired  knowledge,  under  new  cir- 
cumstances, and  therefore  capable  of  a  united  and  reasoned 
energy.  They  have  mostly  lost  the  peculiar  features  belong- 
ing to  the  different  African  parent  tribes.  Their  heads  are 
larger,  as  is  seen  also  in  Dr.  Morton's  measurements,  who,  we 
are  inclined  to  believe,  was  not  aware  of  the  rapid  change  that 
takes  place  in  the  development  of  the  skull ;  though,  even  in 
Europe,  the  difference  of  size  in  heads  of  the  educated  and 
uneducated  classes,  among  civilized  nations,  is  no  secret  to 
hatters.  In  this  condition,  colonial  born  Negroes  are  often 
ingenious  handicrafts.  We  have  known  a  slave  cooper,  whose 
owner  refused  to  grant  his  emancipation  for  less  than  £600. 
They  make  good  masons  and  joiners,  and  excellent  steersmen 
at  the  wheel  and  tiller  are  not  uncommon. 

The  voice  of  Negroes  is  feeble  and  hoarse  in  the  male  sex ; 
exceedingly  high  and  shrill  in  females ;  the  sense  of  sight  is 
acute;  that  of  taste  sufficiently  delicate ;  hearing  sharp;  with 
notions  of  time,  but  very  little  of  melody;  yet  fond  of  music, 
and  constantly  handling  instruments  of  the  most  imperfect 
kind,  excepting  a  species  of  harmonicon,  made  of  slips  of 
bamboo,  or  of  a  set  of  sounding  stones,  —  if  it  be  that  these  are 
of  their  own  invention.  They  have  drums  and  a  kind  of  Cas- 
tanet; but  stringed  instruments  are  derived  from  a  Moorish 
source.     Though  the  physical  qualities  are  well  developed,  the 


229  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

intellectual  are  low,  in  some  tribes  quite  puerile;  yet  the 
moral  impulses  are  not  unfrequently  of  a  most  noble  nature. 
They  offer,  therefore,  a  discordant  mixture  of  qualities, 
wherein  the  good  predominates,  till  the  European,  not  mis- 
guided by  personal  interests  or  prejudices,  cannot  refrain  from 
feelings  of  affection  for  them.  They  all  believe  in  some  kind 
of  future  state,  though  religious  sensations  are  with  them 
superstitious  and  childish  mummeries,  too  often  connected 
with  fetiche  necromancy,  which  deals  in  the  crimes  of  poison- 
ing and  murder.  Thought  is  habitually  dormant,  and,  when 
roused,  it  is  manifested  by  loud  soliloquy  and  gesticulations, 
regardless  of  circumstances.  War  is  a  passion  that  excites  in 
them  a  brutal  disregard  of  human  feelings;  it  entails  the 
deliberate  murder  of  prisoners ;  and  victims  are  slain  to  serve 
the  manes  of  departed  chiefs.  Even  cannibalism  is  frequent 
among  the  tribes  of  the  interior.  But  these  habits  were  once 
not  unknown  to  the  highest  endowed  Caucasians;  human 
sacrifices  belonged  to  the  heroic  age  of  Greece;  to  the  historical 
of  India,  Phoenicia,  Carthage,  Egypt,  and  Celtica;  to  nations 
who  must  have  known  better,  and  were  not,  like  the  African 
savage,  in  mental  nonage,  without  neighbors  to  teach  a  better 
doctrine  or  more  humane  example ;  for  wherever  higher  moral 
duties  have  been  promulgated  to  Negroes,  they  have  been 
quickly  accepted.  Notwithstanding  the  listless  torpidity 
caused  by  excessive  heat,  the  perceptive  faculties  of  the  chil- 
dren are  far  from  contemptible.  They  have  a  quick  apprehen- 
sion of  the  ridiculous ;  often  surpassing  the  intelligence  of  the 
white,  and  only  drop  behind  them  about  the  twelfth  year, 
when  the  reflective  powers  begin  to  have  the  ascendency. 

Collectively,  the  untutored  Negro  mind  is  confiding,  single- 
hearted,  naturally  kind  and  hospitable.  We  speak  not  without 
personal  experience.  The  female  sex  is  affectionate,  to  abso- 
lute devotedness,  in  the  character  of  mother,  child,  nurse,  and 
attendant  upon  the  sick,  though  these  be  strangers,  and  the 
often  experienced  reward  scarcely  amounting  to  thanks.     As 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  229 

housewives,  they  are  charitable  to  the  wants  of  the  wayfaring 
visitants;  within  doors  orderly;  and,  personally,  very  clean; 
they  are  joyous;  noisy;  in  the  night-time  indefatigable  danc- 
ers equally  with  the  men,  who  are  in  general  orderly,  trust- 
worthy, brave  and  unrepining.  Both  sexes  are  easily  ruled, 
and  appreciate  what  is  good,  under  the  guidance  of  common 
justice  and  prudence. 

Yet,  where  so  much  that  honors  human  nature  remains  —  in 
apathy,  the  typical  woolly-haired  races  have  never  invented  a 
reasoned  theological  system,  discovered  an  alphabet,  framed  a 
grammatical  language,  nor  made  the  least  step  in  science  or 
art.*  They  have  scarcely  comprehended  what  they  have 
learned,  or  retained  a  civilization  taught  them  by  contact  with 
more  refined  nations,  so  soon  as  that  contact  has  ceased. 
They  have  at  no  time  formed  great  political  states,  nor  com- 
menced a  self-evolving  civilization.  Conquest  with  them  has 
been  confined  to  kindred  tribes,  and  produced  only  slaughter. 
Even  Christianity,  of  more  than  three  centuries'  duration,  in 
Congo,  has  scarcely  excited  a  progressive  civilization,  because 
it  is  unattended  by  the  stimulus  of  a  stranger  race  (for  the 
small  number  of  Portuguese  officials,  priests,  exiles,  criminals, 
and  slave  merchants,  are  inadequate,  and  of  all  European 
nations  least  capable  of  stirring  the  mind  to  activity,  by  educa- 
tion, and  the  example  of  exertion) ;  notwithstanding  that  the 
nations  south  of  the  Zezere  have  a  more  intellectual  aspect, 
and  have  a  barter  trade  across  the  continent  to  Mozambique. 

Thus,  the  good  qualities  given  to  the  Negro  by  the  bounty 
of  Nature,  have  served  only  to  make  him  a  slave,  trodden  down 
by  every  remorseless  foot,  and  to  brand  him  for  ages  with  the 

*  The  simple  formulce  of  Negro  languages  remain,  when  they  are 
obliged  to  learn  European  ;  thus,  all  the  Negro  slaves  of  tropical  America 
speak  a  dialect  in  form  the  same  as  the  general  African  tongue,  though 
the  words  are  Spanish,  Portuguese,  French,  English,  Dutch,  or  Danish. 
Education  and  time  have  no  doubt  made  the  present  generation  more  gram- 
matically correct. 

20 


230  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

epithet  of  outcast ;  the  marked  unceasing1  proof  of  a  t  urse,  as 
old  as  the  origin  of  society,  not  even  deserving  human  forbear- 
ance !  and  true  it  is,  that  the  worst  slavery  is  his  lot,  even  at 
home,  for  he  is  there  exposed  to  the  constant  peril  of  becoming 
also  a  victim,  slaughtered  with  the  most  revolting  torments.* 
Tyrant  of  his  blood,  he  traffics  in  slavery  as  it  were  mer- 
chandise ;  makes  war  purposely  to  capture  neighbors,  and  sells 
even  his  own  wives  and  children. 

A  second  stem  of  the  typical  group  is  the  eastern  tropical 
or  Samang,  which  we  shall  continue  to  denominate  Papua, 
notwithstanding  recent  investigations  have  endeavored  to  con- 
fine this  name  to  a  more  hybrid  population  of  the  Australian 
islands.  It  is  in  general  greatly  intermixed  with  Hindoo, 
Mongolic,  and  Malay  blood ;  and  in  comparatively  few  locali- 
ties sufficiently  pure  to  retain  the  close  crisp  woolly  scalp 
which  is  the  most  decisive  criterion  of  the  fact ;  for,  so  soon 
as,  in  any  warm  climate,  there  is  foreign  alliance,  the  wool 
becomes  bushy,  and  rises  into  a  huge  round  mop;  and,  if  there 
be  still  greater  connection,  it  droops,  and  gradually  turns  into 
incipient  curls.  By  this  token  the  amount  of  adulteration 
may  be  traced,  independent  of  the  color  of  the  skin,  with  per- 
haps no  exceptions,  although  it  is  true  that  there  is  in  some 
cases  a  tendency  to  variation,  in  the  offspring  taking,  in  one 
birth,  a  more  decisive  maternal  character,  and  perhaps  in  the 
next  a  paternal,  even  to  the  extent  of  modifying  the  hair,  par- 
ticularly between  true  Negroes  and  hard  lank-haired  South 
Americans  of  the  Austral-Malay  cast  of  structure.  These 
remarks  show  that  the  earlier  Egyptians  had  only  a  casual 
knowledge  of  the  true  Negro  populations ;  for,  when  these 
were  first  noticed,  they  occupied,  it  seems,  the  high  lands 
behind  the  east  coast  of  Africa  ;  and  the  ages  they  may  have 
nestled  in  the  central  regions,  without  further  progress  west- 

*  See  Bowdich's    Mission  to  Ashantee. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  231 

ward,  may  be  surmised,  from  the  Phoenician  navigators,  who 
reached  that  coast  by  the  Atlantic,  not  mentioning  the  presence 
of  real  human  beings  to  the  south  of  Cape  Blanco,  since  they 
brought  back  to  Carthage  specimens  or  skins  of  the  Chim- 
panzee, which  at  no  time  could  exist  to  the  north  of  the  great 
rivers,  where  alone  there  are  trees  and  food.  The  abnormal  are 
portrayed  on  Egyptian  temples,  often  repeated,  with  great  bushy 
heads ;  but  real  Negroes  may  be  alone  intended  in  the  figures 
of  black  human  victims,  significantly  offered  to  a  Python  god. 
In  Asia  the  circumstances  were  different;  to  this  time  the 
Hubbashee  clans  of  real  Negroes  exist  in  Laristan  and 
Mekran,  in  Persia,  and  even  on  the  Ilelmund ;  and  are  evi- 
dently of  the  primitive  race,  to  the  south  of  the  Himalaya 
chain  as  well  as  Southern  Persia.*  This  type  forms  the 
primaeval  inhabitants  of  the  Australasian  and  many  tropical 
islands,  although  they  have  been  rooted  out  or  subdued  to  form 
a  low  cast  of  slaves  in  most  of  them ;  and  notwithstanding  that  a 
remote  idolatry,  of  Papuan  origin,  can  still  be  traced  out  in  parts 
of  India,  and  sovereign  families  even  claim  descent  from  monkey 
gods,  that  is,  from  primaeval  Bheels,  the  worship  has  changed 
to  Brahmanism,  and  the  ruling  dynasties  are  now  of  high  caste 
Caucasians,  as  will  be  shown  in  the  sequel.  Only,  in  the  larger 
islands,  the  Papua  tribes  are  in  general  still  found  masters  of 
the  central  mountain  forests.  Rarely,  however,  is  this  branch 
of  the  Negro  stock  equal  in  stature  and  vigor  to  the  African. 

*  Professor  Wilson,  in  his  notice  of  the  animals,  &c.,  mentioned  by 
Ctesias,  gives  some  account  of  the  Kalestrii  ;  and  in  my  manuscript  note 
upon  it,  I  find,  that  "there  were  other  tribes,  higher  up  the  country,  and 
nearer  the  sources  of  the  Indus,  who  were  very  black,  drank  no  water  nor 
ate  corn,  but  lived  on  the  milk  of  their  flocks."  These  were,  perhaps, 
the  typical  Asoors  or  Azuras  of  Hindoo  mythology.  Abulghazi  speaks 
of  black  people  residing  between  the  Hylas  (Cabul  ?)  and  the  Indus, 
(vol.  i.,  p.  15.)  The  present  Aghori,  by  Ctesias  named  Andropophogoi, 
and  by  the  Persians  Mardikohr,  still  occasionally  feed  on  putrid  human 
flesh,  and  reside  in  caverns  about  Aboo,  among  the  Jains.  They  cannot 
well  be  Caucasians,  nor  are  they  Mongoles. 


232  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

Sometimes  varying  to  yellowish-brown,  it  is  in  color  sooty- 
black;  in  stature  often  so  diminutive,  that  the  small  heads  they 
have  appear  large,  the  more  in  disproportion,  because  the 
mities  arc  feeble  and  slender.  Such  at  least  is  the  case 
with  many  of  the  tribes  still  possessed  of  retreats  in  the  Malay 
Archipelago  and  Peninsula;  but  this  form  of  the  woolly-haired 
stock,  unlike  the  African,  diminishes  rapidly  before  th< 
croachments  of  Malays,  Arabs,  and  Europeans.  Many  of  them 
prefer  death  to  slavery;  others  vegetate  in  that  condition,  their 
marriages  not  producing  more  than  one  or  two  children;  and 
some,  becoming  Mahometans,  form  mixed  populations,  where 
Horafoura  and  Malay,  Hindoo  and  Arab,  Chinese  and  Euro- 
pean, have  been  promiscuously  mixed,  and  their  characteristics 
obliterated.  In  this  way  Western  Asiatic  nations,  with  more 
undulating  or  lank  hair,  were  likewise  formed,  by  intermixture 
with  the  low-fronted  Dombuks,  Nimreks,  and  Kakasiah,  or 
black  brothers.  They  may  have  influenced  even  the  black 
Kahnuks,  the  Colchians  of  Herodotus,  and  the  black  Bedou- 
eens. 

From  the  geographical  position  of  the  purest  Papua  Negroes, 
it  is  evident  that  they  have  been  the  first  race  expelled  the 
coasts  and  plains,  since  they  are  insulated  in  the  mountains,  or 
driven  to  the  unhealthy  equatorial  points,  where  other  tribes 
cannot  multiply.  Hence,  they  are  the  oldest  primaeval  race, 
even  if  it  should  be  denied  that  they  are  a  population  of  ante- 
rior date  to  a  great  territorial  cataclysis,  which  submerged  a 
continent  beneath  or  on  the  south  of  the  line.  It  is  also 
evident,  that  around  them,  and  northward,  up  the  Indus,  to  the 
southern  foot  of  the  Himalayas,  the  (Nishada)  most  ancient 
nations,  with  some  relation  to  the  distance  from  their  equatorial 
centre,  bear  strong  marks,  in  structure,  intellectual  capacity, 
habits,  color,  and  hair,  of  a  succession  of  intermixtures  with 
r?.:<?s  coming  down  by  the  gorge  of  the  Brahmaputra,  and  along 
the  eastern  secondaries  of  the  great  mountain  range,  causing  a 
Mongolic  adulteration ;  and,  on  the  north-west,  by  the  Cabul 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  233 

and  Indus,  another  of  Caucasian  blood,  passing  to  the  plains 
of  India  in  overpowering  numbers ;  and  by  the  Ganges  and 
Jumna ;  likewise  along  the  western  flank's  of  the  range  from 
Cashmere,  and  indeed  from  China  itself,  where,  in  the  earliest 
ages,  the  bearded  race  had  numerous  colonies.  But  there  is 
no  evidence  of  the  woolly-haired  stock  possessing,  at  any  time, 
the  valleys  above  the  secondary  ranges,  since  none  are  now 
found  shut  up  in  the  colder  mountains ;  and  the  bearded  races, 
tenants  of  the  region,  are  fair,  and  not  unfrequently  marked  by 
gray  eyes,  and  light  or  red  curled  hair,  showing  how  remote 
was  the  starting-point  from  whence  they  first  proceeded. 
Both  the  earliest  known  invasions  of  the  Indian  peninsula, 
coming  in  successive  waves,  demonstrate  how  variously  crossed 
and  intermixed  have  been  the  populations  already,  before  the 
recorded  historical  repetitions  of  the  same  movement  took 
place.  Similar  events  were  equally  in  active  operation  to  the 
south-west,  through  Persia  and  Syria.  While  a  proportion  of 
the  black  races  may  have  coasted  towards  Africa,  others  no 
doubt  passed  through  the  isthmus  of  Suez,  and  by  the  Arabian 
shore  into  their  present  central  region,  leaving  marks  of  their 
progress  in  the  Mekran,  and  other  fish-eating  Suakim  on  the 
African  shore. 

The  Papuan  stock,  notwithstanding  mental  and  physical 
deficiencies,  has  advanced  to  the  pastoral  and  even  agricultural 
conditions,  when  not  molested  by  invaders,  and  favored  proba- 
bly by  some  foreign  innervation ;  for,  in  a  pure,  unmixed  state, 
no  eastern  Negro  tribe  has  passed  beyond  the  profession  of 
hunter,  or  is  observable  on  islands  at  more  than  a  moderate 
distance  from  its  Australasian  centre.  The  inapprehensive 
character  of  their  constitutions,  or  an  impulse  which  leads 
them  to  the  sea,  induces  both  African  and  Papua  stems  readily 
to  accept  a  marine  mode  of  life.  They  are  generally  excellent 
swimmers ;  they  dive  fearlessly,  and  will  fight  the  shark  in  his 
own  element.  Yet  they  have  never  invented  the  construction 
of  large  canoes,  such  as  the  Malay  and  American  make  with 
20* 


234  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

so  much  sl<ixl.  The  marine  enterprise,  however  it  may  have 
been  occasioned,  is  manifest  even  among  tribes  residing  far 
inland;*  such,  for  example,  are  the  brave  and  honest  Menas 
or  Kroomen  of  Western  Africa,  who  all  become  in  some  degree 
sailors;  and  colonial  Negroes,  who  are  often  seamen  in  the 
merchant  service. 

In  what  manner  the  black  Caribs  of  St.  Vincent  first  reached 
the  Western  Hemisphere,  is  narrated  upon  questionable  evi- 
dence. Those  said  to  be  remains  of  this  adventitious  race,  are 
still  excellent  boatmen  ;  and  if  Peter  Martyr  (Decads)  may  be 
credited,  there  was  a  Negro  population  already  established  on 
the  coast  of  America  t  before  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards. 

On  the  west  coast  of  Africa  the  most  energetic  tribes  are 
Coromantees,  very  black,  and  marked  on  the  cheeks  with  tri- 
bal scars.  They  are  a  daring  and  martial  people ;  when  en- 
slaved, often  rebellious.  The  Eboes,  on  the  contrary,  are  less 
vigorous,  paler  in  color,  with  a  more  slender  form  and  elon- 
gated features.  They  are  a  gentler  race,  yet  more  truly  sav- 
ages ;  and,  though  addicted  to  despondency  and  suicide,  they 
were  formerly  sought  for  house  servants.  The  Widahs,  or 
Fidahs,  are  of  the  stem  usually  called  Papaws  and  Nagas  in 
Africa;  they  resemble  the  Papuas  of  the  Indian  Ocean  more 
than  any  other  race ;  and  they  assimilate  likewise  with  the 
Eboes,  but  are  still  more  submissive  as  slaves.  They  have 
a  baboon-like  expression,  and  the  peculiarities  of  the  Negro 

*  The  fearless  propensity  to  venture  on  the  sea  was  shown  in  Jamaica, 
during  our  residence  on  the  island,  by  two  very  young  Negro  lads,  both 
natives  of  the  interior  of  Africa,  who  could  know  little  more  of  a  water 
life  than  perhaps  fishing  on  the  Niger  ;  yet  they  stole  a  canoe  ;  and,  unpro- 
vided with  food  or  water,  went  to  sea  from  Port  Royal  harbor,  with  the 
resolution  of  returning  to  their  own  country!  The  poor  lads  were  fortu- 
nately picked  up  by  a  merchant  ship,  when  they  had  already  drifted  far  out 
to  the  south-west,  and  were  nearlv  dead  from  exhaustion. 

t  Peter  Martyr,  who  wrote  from  the  manuscript  documents  of  the  first 
discoverers  then  living,  cites  Vasco  Nunez  meeting  with  a  colony  of 
Negroes  at  Quariqua,  in  the  Gulf  of  Darien.  This,  it  should  be 
remarked,  is  anterior  to  the  introduction  of  black  slaves. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  235 

type  strongly  marked.  Among  them,  in  particular,  the  Naga 
tribes  practise  circumcision,  and  have  other  eastern  indications 
about  them;  the  Cumbric  Negroes  may  belong  to  this  branch; 
and.  the  Mocos,  who  file  the  teeth  in  order  to  resemble  the 
Lion,  are  still  cannibals,  and  the  most  savage  of  the  Papaw 
nations.  Like  the  eastern  Papuas,  they  are  of  a  dirty  black 
color,  and  have  the  same  Jewish  rites  as  the  rest.  Hebrew 
or  Semitic  words  occur  in  their  dialects,  as  in  the  Hous- 
wana  tongues.  Ideas,  and  perhaps  affinity  with  the  An- 
gola and  Benin  tribes,  recall  to  mind  the  still  existing  barter 
trade  across  the  continent  to  Mozambique,  and  this  may  point 
out  the  route  from  the  east  by  which  they  may  have  come  to 
their  present  location ;  for,  had  they  spread  from  west  to  east, 
no  oriental  words  or  institutions  would  be  found  in  their  ancient 
national  dialects  or  habits. 

In  Eastern  Africa,  the  woolly-haired  races,  though  occupy- 
ing a  vast  extent,  are  likewise  of  intermixed  origin.  The 
whole  east  coast  is  possessed  by  nations  tinged  with  Arabic 
blood  ;  the  extreme  south  by  apparently  an  outcast  Mongolic 
population;  and,  from  the  north,  Gomerian  tribes  have  likewise 
produced  commixtures  to  beyond  the  Senegal.  Among  these, 
ancient  Numidians  appear  to  have  been  propelled  by  Arabian 
conquerors,  and  to  have  originated  the  red  and  black  Poulas, 
so  called  in  proportion  as  the  brown  or  black  color  of  their  skins 
predominates.  These  have  horses  and  camels,  unknown  to  all 
other  Negroes,  and  are  now  Moslem.  The  Jaloffs  are  a  branch 
of  this  stem ;  and  the  Mandingoes,  once  a  nomad  people,  bear 
evident  tokens  of  a  more  northern  origin,  only  in  part  effaced 
by  intermixture  with  true  Negroes.  Beyond  the  Menas  or 
Kroomen,  on  the  Gambia,  there  are,  however,  important  nations 
of  true  Negroes,  such  as  the  Basus  and  Buyere  on  each  side 
of  them;  and  in  the  interior  of  Africa  the  mysterious  Ba-uri. 

Of  the  African  stock  the  most  conspicuous  abnormal  stem  is 
the  Kafir  or  Caffre,  a  race  which,  having  a  Semitic  innervation, 
has  risen  in  stature,  intelligence  and  beauty,  above  all  the 


23G  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

tribes  of  nearly  pure  Negro  blood.  They  have  formed  states 
of  some  extent;  they  build  large  towns;  possess  the  art  of 
smelting  and  working  metals;  are  very  considerable  graziers; 
and  have  some  agriculture.  The  Caffres  have  trained  their 
war  or  Bakeley  Oxen  to  be  ridden  in  battle  ;  *  have  large,  and, 
in  some  measure,  organized  armies,  distinguished  by  decorated 
spears  for  ensigns,  and  shields  painted  with  different  cogni- 
zances for  each  corps.  Among  the  men  there  are  individuals 
nearly  seven  feet  in  height;  and  the  women  frequently  possess 
considerable  beauty.  Extending  on  the  south-east  coast  to 
Port  Natal,  they  have  all,  it  is  asserted,  formerly  migrated 
from  the  north-west,  or  Central  Africa ;  but  this  is  evidently 
only  the  expansion  of  increased  population,  which,  in  earlier 
ages,  shrunk  from  the  barren  coasts,  and,  since  returning,  have 
directed  their  march  to  the  south-east. 

Next,  or  perhaps  superior  to  them  in  energy,  are  the  Galla 
or  Sidana  nation,  constantly  encroaching  on  the  Abyssinian 
states,  and  containing  several  mighty  tribes ;  such  as  the 
Sooalla,  seated  from  the  equator  to  Mozambique ;  the  Soomal- 
lees  on  the  north  of  them,  and  the  pure  Gallas  in  the  interior, 
who  are  chiefly  composed  of  Carrachi  and  Boiran  tribes  —  all 
speaking  dialects  of  one  great  language. 

In  the  east,  the  propensity  to  an  aquatic  life  is  likewise  man- 
ifest, for  true  oriental  Negroes  inhabit  the  Nicobar  islands,  and 
spread  through  many  Australasian,  Philippine,  and  more  east- 
ern groups,  though  they  are  often  intermixed  with  Malay,  or 
with  Hindoo  races,  who  have  modified  their  characteristic  dis- 


*  No  doubt,  oxen  'were  ridden  in  India  before  war-horses  "were  intro- 
duced by  the  north-western  conquerors.  There  exist  allusions  to  the  prac- 
tice ;  and  I  have  copied  an  Indian  Rajah,  seated  on  his  war-ox,  from  a 
painting  on  ivory.  Siva  on  the  bull  Nundi  represents  the  same  fact ;  and 
the  African  Caffres,  having  the  like  custom,  may  indicate  the  region 
whence  they  emigrated,  and  the  date  as  anterior  to  the  arrival  of  domes- 
ticated horses  in  southern  Asia. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  237 

tinctiorv,  and  there  also,  in  general,  constituted  a  privileged 
order  among  them.  This  occurs  even  among  the  Tasmanians, 
the  lowest  race  of  oriental  Negroes,  and  now  nearly  extinct, 
yet  still  familiar  with  water.  The  New  Holland  Papuas,  who, 
for  want  of  trees  serviceable  for  excavation,  venture  out  upon 
slips  of  bark  but  slightly  bound  together  at  the  extremities,  or 
on  pieces  of  drift-wood,  not  capable  to  support  them  until  their 
bodies  are  partially  immersed  ;  nay,  on  the  central  lakes  of 
Africa,  Negroes  venture  out,  riding  a  stick,  having  two  open 
calabashes,  one  before,  the  other  behind,  which  buoy  them  up 
sufficiently,  to  admit  in  them  the  fish  they  catch,  and  stun  or 
kill  with  a  billet. 

The  Papuan  of  Australia  is,  in  many  respects,  the  most 
sunken  of  human  beings,  and  is  partly  mixed  with  Horafoura 
tribes,  whose  presence  is  indicated  by  the  hair  being  more 
drooping  and  matted,  the  features  less  debased,  and  the  limbs 
more  masculine.  Some  tribes  towards  the  north  are  even  fair, 
and  appear  to  have  a  tinge  of  Malay  blood,  perhaps  imported 
by  the  Trepang  fishers  on  the  coast. 

If  the  woolly-haired  type,  in  the  oriental  portion  of  its  dis- 
tribution, is  often  of  the  smallest  and  ill-made  proportions, 
there  are  instances  (perhaps,  indeed,  of  races  already  somewhat 
mixed)  wh<*re  they  rise  to  six  feet  high,  and  possess  powerful 
frames,  as  was  lately  discovered  in  the  interior  of  Australia. 
But,  in  all,  where  any  religious  sentiments  have  been  observed, 
they  seem  to  be  imported,  or  sink  into  the  lowest  puerilities. 
This  is  also  the  case  in  Africa,  where  the  divinities  are  spec- 
tres; or  are  reptiles,  lizards,  insects,  birds,  or  beasts  ;  gods  in 
one  season  and  game  in  another ;  or  they  are  wretched  little 
idols  they  call  Fetiche,  a  word  derived  from  Pet,  pataichos,  of 
Phoenician  or  Egyptian  origin;  and,  as  it  evidently  means 
father,  shows  that,  in  the  first  acceptation,  was  implied  venera- 
tion for  departed  tribal  or  family  ancestors,  but  became  de- 
graded to  a  kind  of  idolatrous  worship,  which,  in  the  hands  of 
Negroes,  is  bestowed  upon  monkey  skulls,  bits  of  bone  and  rag; 


238  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

or  is  a  gross  scarecrow,  set  up  under  a  canopy  of  straw.  The 
Negro  has  shown  always  a  great  propensity  to  incantation  and 
sorcery;  has  recourse  to  protective  amulets,  which  he  calls 
Grisgris ;  and  positive  impostures  are  both  believed  in  and 
practised  by  the  male  part,  without  an  attempt  at  reflection; 
although,  in  other  respects,  he  can  be  a  mimic  —  and  docs  not 
want  craft  in  the  mysteries  of  huckstering,  or  of  small  dealing, 
which  all  classes  are  inclined  to.  These  propensities  can  be 
traced  to  the  extent  of  a  kind  of  caravan  trade,  and  the  fre- 
quentation  of  sacred,  or,  at  least,  neutral  marts,  scalas,  or  ven- 
tas,  where  dealers  assemble  at  stated  periods  within  the  precincts 
of  Nigritia,  for  elsewhere  the  lawless  ferocity  of  slave-making 
Caucasians  has  rendered  the  practice  impossible  to  the  Negro 
race.  All  these  opinions  and  customs  are,  however,  perfectly 
in  harmony  with  the  oriental  development  of  the  woolly-haired 
tribes;  with  their  primaeval  passage  even  through  Egypt  and 
the  desert,  which  most  recent  discovery  shows  to  be  still,  in 
parts,  not  entirely  barren  ;  although,  as  Dr.  Hoskins  has  proved, 
increasingly  desolate. 

The  Horafouras,  or  Alforees  of  the  Australasian  islands, 
are,  we  believe,  the  first  and  most  ancient  abnormal  race  of 
Papuan  origin,  tinged  sufficiently  with  Malay  blood  to  possess 
the  energy  and  malignant  ferocity  of  that  people  ;  while  they 
have  the  color  and  the  great  mop-formed  hair,  which  result 
from  an  interunion  thus  formed,  and,  having  greater  mental 
development,  their  social  progress  is  more  advanced.  They 
possessed  already,  in  remote  antiquity,  the  means  of  marine 
venture,  which  causes  their  descendants  to  be  found  singly,  or 
partially  mixed  with  Caucasian  blood,  on  most  of  the  South 
Sea  islands. 

They  appear  to  have  been  the  leaders  of  that  generally  pre- 
vailing fashion  among  those  tribes,  of  tattooing  the  skin  not 
only  of  the  face,  but  nearly  of  every  part  of  the  body;  distinctly 
marking,  by  means  of  raised  lines  and  figures,  the  family  clan 
of  every  individual  so  adorned. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  289 

The  Negro  or  woolly-haired  type,  independently  of  diluvian 
convulsions,  appears,  as  before  stated,  originally  to  have 
extended  northward  to  the  lower  ranges  of  the  Himalaya 
chain,  if  indeed  that  region  was  not  its  original  seat  ;  and  that 
it  did  not  extend,  in  a  pure  or  perhaps  somewhat  mixed  state, 
eastward  to  Japan,  may  be  surmised  by  the  present  population 
of  Formosa  being  apparently  descended  from  an  expelled  people, 
once  resident  about  the  coasts  of  China.  It  is  confirmed  from 
the  existence  of  a  black  stock,  with  Caucaso-Mongoles,  and  now 
termed  Min-leu,  black-haired  people;  a  denomination  which 
implies  a  distinct  race,  not  genuine  Chinese.  The  same  infer- 
ence may  be  drawn  from  the  black  people  mentioned  by  Abul- 
ghazi,  and  even  from  the  melanic  Californians  on  the  west 
coast  of  America. 

In  this  view,  the  first  migrations  of  the  Negro  stock,  coast- 
ing westward  by  catamarans,  or  in  wretched  canoes,  and 
skirting  South-Western  Asia,  may  synchronize  with  the 
earliest  appearance  of  the  Negro  tribes  in  Eastern  Africa,  and 
just  precede  the  more  mixed  races,  which,  like  the  Ethiopians 
of  Asia,  passed  the  Red  Sea  at  the  straits  of  Bab-el-mandel, 
ascended  the  Nile,  or  crossed  that  river  to  the  west ;  for  that 
movements  of  this  kind  were  long  continued,  is  apparent,  from 
the  Na^as  or  Norages,  who  visited  Spain  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean islands  under  Norax,  so  late  as  the  dawn  of  authentic 
history. 

Taking  the  whole  southern  portion  of  Asia  westward  to 
Arabia,  this  conjecture,  which  likewise  was  a  conclusion 
drawn,  after  patient  research,  by  the  late  Sir  T.  Stamford 
Raffles,  accounts,  more  satisfactorily  than  any  other  for  the 
oriental  habits,  ideas,  traditions,  and  words,  which  can  be  traced 
among  several  of  the  present  African  tribes  and  in  the  South 
Sea  islands ;  it  points  out  the  primaeval  cities  of  the  woolry- 
haired  people  in  Nangasaki,  or  rather,  in  its  ancient  form, 
Nagaraki,  according  to  Pfitzmayer ;  Nagara,  now  Cashmere ; 


240  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

Nngnrn,  the  known  capital  of  a  most  ancient  Naga  people.* 
Further,  in  the  plains,  are  Nagpoor,  and  a  ruined  city  without 
i,  at  the  gates  of  Benares  (perhaps  the  r<  !  k  .  i  of  tradi- 
tion), once  adorned  with  .statues  of  a  woolly-haired  race;  and 
lower  still,  on  the  Indus,  Pattala,  the  ancient  empire  of  the 
or  serpent  kings,  before  it  became  a  mytholo 
I  e  cities  existed,  and  a  given  social  state  was 
advancing  to  civilization  among  the  typical  woolly-haired  trib  - 
of  higher  Asia,  but  declined  and  fell,  from  the  moment  the 
Hindoo  races  invaded  Bharata  or  the  peninsula  of  India.  The 
people,  nevertheless,  which  they  subdued,  expelled,  and  vainly 
endeavored  to  extirpate,  survived,  in  scattered  purer  groups,  in 
the  more  inaccessible  parts  of  the  continent,  chiefly  along  the 
subordinate  ramifications  of  the  Himalaya  range,  from  the  Indus 
to  Indo-China,  and  the  Malay  peninsula;  or  in  the  form  of 
hybrid  tribes,  even  at  present  lurking  in  the  Vindaya  chain, 
and  spread  through  the  southern  states  to  Ceylon.  Taking 
the  characteristics  of  some  tribes  still  remaining  for  the  general 
standard,  they  were  a  strong-built  under-sized  people,  with  a 
depressed  forehead,  frizzled  hair,  crushed  nose,  thick  lips,  and 
black  skin,  all  to  some  extent  cannibals,  and  incapable  of 
rising,  by  their  own  intellectual  powers,  much  beyond  the 
degrees  of  social  improvement  they  had  attained  ;  yet  not  so 
low,  but  that  some  of  the  worst  features  of  their  religious  and 
moral  notions  were  adopted  by  their  conquerors.  The  names 
of  the  nations  varied  of  course.  Among  the  most  ancient  and 
general,  was  that  of  Nats,  Nagas,  Nishadas,  Kabendas,  Bhils, 
and  Puharees.t     They  are  now  found  under  similar  denomi- 

*  This  Nagara  stood  on  the  Indus,  between  latitude  32  and  33°,  and  was 
a  Dionysiopolis,  according  to  Ptolemy  ;  but  more  probably  the  fanum  of 
some  Naag  Sahib,  a  serpent  god  with  human  sacrifices,  such  as  the  Naag 
tribes  had  upon  the  upper  Nile,  and  still  retain  in  Cutch.  Naag  and 
Naga,  if  it  be  a  Sanscrit  word,  is  also  well  known  in  more  than  one  Afri- 
can dialect. 

t  Several  of  these  names  recur,  most  significantly,  among  the  Negro 
tribes   of  Western  and  Southern   Africa,  particularly  those   of  Nagas  ot 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  241 

nations,  such  as  Cutchccs,  Bheels,  Bindcrwars,  Paharias  of 
Bhangulpoor,  and  Mongheer,  who  arc  complete  Papuas ;  there 
are  the  Sedies  of  Canara,  Dacoits  of  Bengal,  Ghonds  of  Ghond- 
wana,  Koolies  or  Kholes,  Lurka  Kholes,  Cookies  or  Nagas  of 
Indo-China;  Bedas  or  Vedas  of  Ceylon,  t5co.  In  Persia  are 
the  Hubbashie  and  Mekran  tish-eaters;  and  the  Jamaules,  near 
Aden,  and  the  Ovahs  of  Madagascar,  are  partially  mixed  races. 
The  most  aberrant  of  all  are,  however,  the  Houswana 
nations,  the  Hottentots,  Bushmen,  Coranas,  &zc,  all  of  a  lemon 
peel  or  dirty  yellow  color,  and  often  with  strange  peculiarities 
of  form;  speaking  dialects  inimitably  articulated,  and  possibly 
forming  a  hybrid  race  of  Mongolo-Papuan  origin;  one  flung 
abroad  at  so  remote  a  period,  as  to  have  preceded  both  the 
true  woolly-haired  tribes,  the  Ethiopian,  and  the  Caucasian 
nations,  since  they,  together  with  the  Ompizee  of  Madagascar, 
a  portion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Fernando  Po,  and  the  ancient 
Guanches  of  Teneriffe  and  the  islands  of  the  west  coast,  seem 
to  have  belonged  to  the  same  origin,  and  to  have  been  driven 
off  in  all  directions  by  the  Negroes  who  succeeded  them;* 
until,  at  a  later  period,  they  effected  interunions,  which  form 
some  of  the  modifications  among  the  black  tribes,  and  consti- 
tute the  existing  populations  above  named.  That  certain 
tribes,  of  a  partially  civilized  race,  preexisted  in  the  present 
Caffraria,  is  even  proved  by  the  rectangular  stone  walls  of  old 
Leetakoo  (Lectakoon,  in  the  Caffre  dialects,  denoting  the  old 
stone  buildings),  the  ruins  of  which  still  remain,  in  a  country 

Nagoes,  Puharees,  Mcnas,  and,  perhaps,  Galla  ;  for  in  India  the  Gwalla, 
or  grazier  profession,  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  African  Gallas,  who  also 
hear  another  Asiatic  and  their  true  name  of  Sidana.  Gal,  Gail,  in  Cel- 
tic, moreover,  denotes  a  stranger  or  wanderer,  therefore  radically  also  a 
nomad. 

*  To  this  expelled  sallow  people  may  be  ascribed  also  the  iuins  of 
houses,  which  are  reported  to  have  been  still  visible  in  the  Canary  Islands, 
at  the  commencement  of  the  ninth  century  ;  as  related  by  the  Irish  Monk 
Dicuil,  in  his  curious  work,  "  De  Mensusa  Orbis  Terrae."  He  wrote  in 
the  year  829,  and  is  better  known  by  the  name  of  the  "Anonymous  of 
Ravenna." 

21 


242  NATURAL    HISTORY    OP 

where  the  Amazula,  Bachapin,  or  CafTre  population,  never  iare 
built  a  house  but  of  reeds  and  clay. 

In  north-eastern  Africa,  an  expansion  similar  to  that  in  the 
south  is  taking  place  :  the  Cushi,  Kopths,  Mauritanians,  Abys- 
sinians,  and  Arabs,  gradually  diminish  or  become  absorbed; 
the  Negro  races  press  forward,  by  the  Bahar-el-abiad,  upon 
Egypt,  and  through  the  desert,  upon  Morocco,  not  so  much  by 
conquest  as  by  the  increase  of  their  numbers ;  a  result  which 
continued  slavery  only  tends  to  hasten.  Such  also  has  been 
the  consequence  in  Hayti  and  in  Central  America;  nor  can 
the  evil  effects  impending  over  Brazil,  and  even  over  our  own 
colonies  in  the  west,  be  avoided,  but  by  timely  liberal  and 
humane  laws,  aiding  a  true,  zealous,  and  applicable  system  of 
education.  The  really  good  qualities,  and  single-heartedness 
of  the  Negro,  may  then  be  safely  expected  to  evolve  that  quiet 
cooperation  and  patriotic  feeling  which  justice  will  teach  him 
to  appreciate  ;  but  the  prejudices  of  colonists  have  still  much 
to  retrace  and  to  unlearn.  Fear  alone  imparts  moderation  and 
reason  upon  masses,  who  believe  they  derive  an  advantage 
from  injustice. 

Before  concluding,  we  may  mention  here  the  gradations 
through  which  intermixtures  of  the  typical  stocks  are  distin- 
guished in  the  West  India  Islands.  The  offspring  of  a  black  and 
a  white  parent  is  denominated  a  Mulatto;  a  black  and  a  mulatto 
produce  a  Sambo;  a  black  and  a  sambo  a  Mungroo ;  and  a 
black  and  a  mungroo  is  again  completely  black.  But,  in  this 
case,  the  disturbance  in  the  intellectual  qualities  is  not  again 
obliterated ;  it  remains,  to  a  considerable  extent,  of  a  more 
developed  character  than  in  a  true  Negro  of  unmixed  origin. 
A  mulatto,  however,  and  a  white  generate  a  Quartroon ; 
a  quartroon  and  a  white  a  Mestie ;  and  a  mestie  and  a  white 
a  complete  white,  having  already,  before  the  emancipation  of 
the  slaves  in  all  our  colonies,  the  legal  rights  of  a  white  man 
of  pure  blood.  Yet  this  class  of  persons  still,  in  general,  have 
black  and  curly  hair;  the  nails  on  the  fingers  remain  darker 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  243 

and  ill-shaped ;  the  feet  are  indifferently  formed ;  and  in 
their  propensities  much  of  the  Negro  origin  continues  to  be 
traced.  The  Spaniards  carry  their  distinctions  to  a  seventh 
generation. 

As  the  early  history  of  the  real  Ethiopic  nations  is  better 
known  by  means  of  the  connection  and  hybridal  descent  they 
drew  from  the  Caucasian  races,  we  shall  enter  into  more  detail 
respecting  their  primaeval  filiations  and  migratory  movements, 
when  treating  of  the  bearded  tribes  which  first  invaded  India, 
and  pursued,  subdued,  and  absorbed  the  Negro  population  in 
south-eastern  and  south-western  Asia,  and  northern  Africa; 
an  inquiry  that  can  be  followed  out  by  certain  geographical 
necessities,  and  by  a  right  appreciation  of  many  ancient  mythic 
tales,  notwithstanding  that  historical  data  were  few  and 
scanty.*1 

THE  MALAY  SUB-TYPICAL  STEM. 

Pursuing  our  course  of  investigation  onwards  towards  the 
east,  we  find  from  a  commencement  somewhere  on  the  gorges 
of  the  Brahmaputra,  where  that  mighty  stream  turns  towards 
the  Ganges,  an  intermediate  form  of  Man  ;  one  which,  in  a 
most  remote  period,  was  perhaps  seated  further  to  the  north, 
about  the  sources  of  the  great  rivers  which  rise  to  the  eastward 

*  Our  personal  observations  on  the  Negro  races,  it  is  proper  to  mention, 
commenced  in  1797,  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  They  were  continued,  on 
both  portions  of  the  American  continent,  and  in  the  West  Indies,  to 
1807  ;  during  which  period  the  slave  trade  remained  inactivity,  and  new 
Negroes,  as  they  were  termed,  coming  from  different  nations,  could  be  ex- 
amined, and  their  characteristics  compared  at  most  of  the  tropical  seaports. 
The  distinctive  characters  then  possessed  by  them  are  now  confused  or 
obliterated  by  commixture  of  the  different  races,  by  education,  and  other 
changes  of  circumstances  in  the  western  hemisphere,  and  are  no  longer 
accessible  on  the  coast  of  Africa.  Hence,  several  remarks  above  made 
cannot  now  be  entirely  verified  in  any  quarter.  From  what  is  here  stated, 
it  follows  that  the  observations,  more  or  less  carefully  made,  extended 
over  hundreds,  belonging  to  very  different  tribes  of  western  and  central 
Africa,  exclusive  of  North  and  South  American,  and  West  Indian  colonial- 
born  Negroes. 


244  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

cf  that  stream.  This  stem  now  extends  across  the  great  pen- 
insula of  Indo-China,  or  has  been  propelled,  by  the  pressure  of 
genuine  Mongolic  races  and  mixed  Indo  tribes,  not  only  to  the 
extreme  south  of  the  peninsula,  but  driven  onwards,  beyond 
sea,  to  the  islands  of  Australasia,  to  Madagascar,  the  archipel- 
agos of  the  Pacific;  and,  it  would  seem,  even  to  South  Amer- 
ica, before  that  continent  was  visited  by  the  great  migrations 
which  came  down  the  coast  by  the  west  of  the  Cordilleras. 
Conquered  on  the  mainland  of  Asia,  tribes  of  Malays,  no  doubt, 
reached  the  peninsula  of  Malacca  at  a  remote  period,  but  not 
before  Java  and  Sumatra,  Borneo  and  Celebes  were  detached 
from  it ;  for  notwithstanding  that  the  deep  channels,  extant  in 
their  present  waters,  soundings  and  shoals,  spreading  even  to 
the  vicinity  of  Australia  and  New  Guinea,*  indicate  the  com- 
paratively recent  period  when  a  great  disruption  of  the  land 
occurred  in  those  latitudes,  or  the  present  conditions  of  the 
coasts  were  completed,  still  the  presence  of  a  more  ancient  or 
a  more  purely  typical  race,  on  the  centre  and  on  the  west  coast 
of  the  two  first-mentioned  islands,  seems  to  prove  that  these  were 
anterior,  and  the  Malays  only  the  second,  or  more  probably  the 
third  source  of  the  present  population. 

Preceding  the  arrival  of  the  Malays,  there  was  already 
extant,  as  the  scattered  fragments  of  the  former  population 
prove,  the  Oriental  Negro  stock ;  both  on  the  continent  and  in 
the  islands ;  and  coeval  with  the  first-mentioned  tribes,  the 
black  Hindoo  mixed  Caucasian  stem  seems  likewise  to  have 
been  urged  to  the  same  coasts.  Thus,  the  adulteration  of  the 
woolly-haired  stock  was  effected  in  two  directions,  and  the  Malay 
stem,  apparently  resulting  from  the  union  of  Caucasian  with 
Mongolic  tribes,  caused  that  great  variety  of  feature,  complexion, 
and  form,  which  it  is  known  to  possess,  without  therefore  oblit- 
erating the  perceptible  sub-typical  general  resemblance  which 
constitutes  the  characteristic  marks  of  the  whole  race.  If  the 
Malays  were  a  real  typical   stock,  they  would  likewise  possess 

*  Earl's  Report  in  Journal  of  Geographical  Sciences. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  245 

a  nucleus,  or  centre  of  existence,  exclusively  adapted  for  their 
permanent  abode,  whereas  the  contrary  is  clearly  shown,  by  the 
presence  of  unadulterated  races,  and  mixed  tribes  of  the  other 
two  stocks,  in  both  conditions  suited  to  the  same  geographical 
region.  This  circumstance  likewise  indicates  the  probability 
of  a  great  atmospheric  change  in  relation  to  man,  after  a  dilu- 
vian  cataclysis,  if  it  be  admitted  that  this  equatorial  vicinity 
was  once  the  real  Nigritia  of  the  woolly-haired  type.  Now, 
as  it  is  evident  the  centre  of  development  belonging  to  this 
type  is  at  present  in  the  tropical  regions  of  Africa,  and,  as  was 
before  shown,  that  there  are  indications  of  a  third  being  in 
preparation,  under  the  same  latitudes  in  South  America,  while 
the  Oriental  is  gradually  disappearing,  it  might  be  asked, 
whether  there  is  not  here  the  indication  of  a  submerged  conti- 
nent, and  another  instance  of  that  progressive  migratory  move- 
ment from  the  east  to  the  west,  or  expansion  and  decay, 
ordained  to  be  the  fate  of  the  great  human  typical  stocks,  and 
impelled  by  laws  whose  operation  may  be  perceived  without 
affording  the  means  of  tracing  their  causes  beyond  probable 
assumptions  ?  Yet  this  physical  procession  over  the  earth  by 
longitudes  may  not  be  without  ultimate  connection  with  that 
intellectual  march  of  Man  by  latitudes,  which,  while  departing 
from  the  temperate  regions  of  our  northern  hemisphere,  and 
arriving  at  the  extremity  of  the  habitable  south,  appears  to 
repeat,  on  a  greater,  the  workings  of  civilization  which  it  com- 
menced on  a  less  scale  in  Europe,  and  thus  to  be  evolving  the 
mysterious  problem  of  human  fusion  into  one  great  family,  led 
by  one  religious  system,  and  trained  to  the  sciences  and  litera- 
ture of  Europe. 

As  the  Malays  are  nowhere  expansively  homogeneous,  and  in 
most  places  only  tenants  of  coasts  or  parts  of  islands,  varied 
marks  of  national  adulteration  are  constantly  perceptible.  In 
general,  however,  their  distinctive  characters  are  marked  by  a 
comparatively  small  head,  measuring,  in  the  capacity  of  the 
skull,  according  to  Dr.  Morton,  from  sixty-four  to  eighty-nine 
21* 


246  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

cubic  nches  ;  a  diversity  in  itself  sufficient  to  demonstrate  the 
mixed  nature  of  their  origin.  The  dome  is  high  and  rounded, 
with  a  low  forehead ;  the  face  is  flat  and  broad ;  the  nose 
short,  expanded  at  the  wings  ;  the  mouth  wide,  with  projecting 
upper  jaws,  and  teeth  resembling  Negroes;  the  skin  varying 
in  color  from  clear  brown  to  dark  clove  ;  the  auditory  aperture 
elevated,  and  consequently  with  a  depressed  forehead, —  nearly 
as  much  so  as  in  the  woolly-haired  type,  but  commonly  distin- 
guished by  prominent  ridges  of  the  orbits  overhanging  the  eyes  ; 
and  we  have  seen  a  light  brown,  so-called,  Papua  girl,  from  one 
of  the  South  Sea  cannibal  islands,*  whose  forehead  had  the 
lengthened  form  assumed  to  be  peculiar  to  the  American  races. 
In  the  more  typical  tribes,  the  Malay's  hair  is  coarse,  lank  and 
shining,  like  the  Chinese ;  more  aberrant,  it  becomes  undulat- 
ing and  bushy,  till,  in  still  more  adulterated  races,  it  rises  in  the 
high  curly  mops  which  attest  the  intermixture  of  blood  to  be 
not  less  than  half  with  woolly-haired  families.  This  condition, 
however,  most  frequently  advances  the  physical  improvement 
of  the  possessors,  and  even  the  intellectual,  when  there  is  an 
additional  innervation  from  a  Caucasian  source.  The  beard  is 
often  plucked  out,  generally  scanty  in  the  purer  hybridism  of 
the  Malay  composition,  nor  does  it  increase  to  the  full  honors 
of  a  well  furnished  fringe,  up  to  the  ears,  unless  there  are  again 
other  indications  of  a  Caucasian  infusion.  In  that  case,  consid- 
erable stature  is  likewise  not  unfrequent;  while,  without  the 
exciting  cause  just  mentioned,  a  lank  spare  structure  is  the 
more  usual,  and  the  lower  extremities  are  often  somewhat  defi- 
cient and  short  among  the  tribes  addicted  to  marine  lives.  In 
moral  capacity,  the  Malay  races  are  inferior  to  the  Mongolic, 
yet  they  exhibit,  like  them,  intellectual  vitality,  great  bodily 
activity,  and  considerable  manual  dexterity,  as  well  as  enterprise. 
The  temperament  of  true  Malays  is  treacherous,  the  disposi- 
tion ferocious,  implacable,  and  the  nervous  system  compatible 
with   a  kind   of  insensibility  to  bodily  pain  ;  hence,    fits  of 

*  Fr  n  Tikienitri,  a  sandal  wood  island. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  247 

ungovernable  passion  are  always  breaking  forth  in  acts  of 
indiscriminate  murder,  brought  on  by  an  abuse  of  ardent  spirits, 
opium,  and  bang  (smoking  hemp).  These*  occur  so  frequently 
among  them,  that  in  most  European  settlements,  where  this 
race  is  apt  to  congregate,  particular  police  regulations  and  pre- 
:autions  are  taken  to  obviate  the  greatest  mischief;  and  it  is 
not  unusual  to  kill  the  maniac  on  the  instant,  as  the  only 
effectual  preventive,  since  instances  are  recorded,  where  they 
have  run  up  the  spear  that  had  transfixed  them,  and  thus  have 
sabred  the  spearman.  This  frenzy  is  commonly  known  by 
the  name  of  Muck,  Moolc,  Mengamok,  in  Sumatra,  and  Wude 
in  India.  To  the  same  insensibility  may  be  ascribed  their 
ferocious,  unyielding  spirit  in  battle.  They  fight  to  the  last 
gasp,  never  ask,  and  scarcely  will  accept  quarter,  nor  profess 
thanks  for  mercy  and  the  cure  of  their  wounds. 

The  great  affluence  of  Arab  merchants  and  fanatics  has  con- 
verted the  more  polished  Australasian  tribes  of  Malays  to  Islam  ; 
the  others  are  still  Pagans  of  very  different  creeds,  generally 
not  resting  upon  any  reasonable  system ;  but  Christianity  is 
now  spreading  rapidly,  through  the  zeal  of  missionaries,  in  the 
Polynesian  islands,  where,  however,  the  Caucasian  stock  is 
more  deeply  mixed  up  in  the  composition  of  the  nations,  than 
in  the  great  islands  nearer  the  Asiatic  shore. 

All,  however,  record,  in  somewhat  similar  forms,  a  great 
diluvian  catastrophe,  have  the  same  notions  about  the  Makeri, 
or  Dragon  Serpent,  a  dragon-fish  god  assailing  the  moon,  the 
crescent  boat  during  eclipses  ;  notions  alike  remembered  in 
Central  Africa,  Peru,  China  and  Ceylon,  as  well  as  in  Borneo 
and  Sumatra.  They  are  essentially  the  same  as  the  Indian 
legends  of  Vishnou,  the  Tahtar  Nataghi,  can  be  traced  in  the 
Scandinavian  and  other  heathen  mythologies  of  Europe  and 
North  America,  being  all  distorted  versions  of  the  scriptural 
record  in  Genesis. 

The  languages  of  Malay  nations,  influenced  by  the  various 
causes  before  noticed,  and  even  by  the  contact  of  antique  de- 


248  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

tached  tribes,  whose  original  affinity  cannot  now  be  traced, 
have  produced  great  differences  of  opinion  among  ethuol<>. 
as  regards  their  classification;  the  learned  William  von  Hum- 
boldt vainly  claiming  a  unity  of  origin  from  the  identity  of  the 
dialects  spoken  by  a  great  proportion  of  the  Polynesians,  whom 
he  and  others  regard  as  Malays.  But,  although  we  do  not 
mean  to  deny  a  pervading  intermixture  of  Malay  blood  in  the 
composition  of  these  tribes,  still,  as  they  vary,  from  absolutely 
Oriental  Negroes,  to  nations  having  most  striking  characl 
tics  of  true  Caucasians,  the  sole  test  of  language,  even  if  it  were 
beyond  dispute,  is  scarcely  of  sufficient  weight  to  determine  the 
whole  question.  It  should  be  remembered  that  all  the  [Malay 
dialects  abound  in  Sanscrit  words,  which,  be  they  borrowed 
from  the  tongues  of  the  present  Indo-China,  or  from  the  Te- 
linga  of  the  peninsula,  are  still  evidence  of  a  prevailing  Cauca- 
sian admixture.  Indo-China,  the  primaeval  abode  of  the  Malays, 
bears  Sanscrit  names  in  every  locality,  whereas  the  Polyne- 
sian languages  are  without  these  characteristics  in  the  words 
and  grammatical  structure.  There  are,  moreover,  monuments 
of  Man's  presence  in  many  islands,  from  the  Ladrones,  in  the 
Chinese  seas,  and  Tinian,  to  Java,  the  Marquesas,  Easter  and 
Pitcairn  Islands,  monuments,  not  the  work  of  the  present  exist- 
ing nations,  but  raised  at  so  remote  a  period,  that  all  memory 
of  the  facts  connected  with  them  is  departed  even  from  myth- 
ical tales  ;  yet  they  are  constructed  upon  principles  positively 
akin  to  Caucasian  reasoning  and  Caucasian  skill.  Tribes  of 
this  type  have  left  strong  evidence  of  their  ancient  prevalence 
in  the  present  mop-headed  Figees,  the  brown  curly-haired 
Marquesans,  the  dark-haired  Hawaiians,  and  the  variously 
featured  New  Zealanders,  in  all  of  which,  though  the  masses 
of  population  indicate  mixtures  of  lower  origin,  the  chiefs  point 
to  the  true  Caucasian  descent,  in  their  whole  external  con- 
formation, and  still  more  in  the  intellectual  qualities  they  pos- 
sess. It  is  from  this  high  order  of  ancestors,  it  appears  most 
probable,  that  the  pyramidal   Morais,  and  other  monumerts, 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  249 

have  )een  derived  ;  for  in  the  [Malay  peninsula,  and  where 
that  stem  has  res/ded  the  longest,  all  the  religious  structures 
they  acknowledge  are  bell-shaped,  notoriously  made  of  straw, 
rushes,  mats,  and  poles  ;  or,  at  most,  they  are  of  a  Mongolic 
character,  built  with  wood  and  mortar.  Now,  if  we  compare 
the  Egyptian  pyramids,  the  ruins%  of  the  supposed  temples  of 
Belus  or  tower  of  Babylon,  and  of  Baradan  in  Persia,  it  will 
be  found  that  one  of  them  certainly  had  four  towers,  and, 
from  the  shape  of  the  ruins,  it  had  also  a  projection  or 
propylon,  characteristics  which  mostly  occur  again,  and  with 
the  same  cardinal  aspects,  as  the  great  Morai  of  Suka,  in  Java, 
of  Temurri,  at  Poppara  ;  that  at  Atte  Hura,  and  the  base  of 
the  Fiatookas,  like  the  Mooau  at  Tonga,  and  others  in  Poly- 
nesia ;  there  are  occasionally  similarly  constructed  successive 
terraces,  forming  pyramidal  elevations  in  the  Marquesas  and 
elsewhere,  and  these  are  again  repeated  in  America,  with 
exactly  the  same  forms  —  one  of  these  at  Cholula,  exceeding 
in  area,  and  in  cubic  quantity  of  artificial  accumulation,  both 
the  great  tower  of  Belus,  and  the  great  pyramid  of  Cheops, 
taken  together.*1  The  forms  of  all  these  structures  indicate  a 
common  religious  system,  more  ancient  than  the  extant  idola- 
tries ;  they  may  be  claimed  by  a  solar  theism,  distinct  from  the 
subsequent  elaborate  astronomical  religions,  but  containing  the 
basis  of  what  has  since  been  ascribed  to  Fob  and  Budha, 
which  both  Mongolic  and  Eastern  Caucasians  have  long  revered 
on  the  continent,  and  in  the  Asiatic  Archipelago. 

The  Malay  form,  whether  composed  of  two  normal  types,  or 
of  three,  in  various  quantities  of  admixture,  can  be  traced  to 
Ceylon,  where  the  blowpipe,  the  outrigger  canoe,  and  other 
peculiar  customs  and  words,  give  evidence  that  it  visited  at 
least  the  southern  portion  of  the  island.     In  the  same  manner, 

*  The  base  is  square,  and  covers  forty-four  acres,  the  upper  platform  is 
somewhat  more  than  one  acre.  The  elevation  at  present  is  177  feet  ;  hut 
this  is  partially  diminished  by  the  ruinous  state  of  the  lowest  platform, 
and  is  exclusive  of  the  temple  which  adorns  the  summit. 


250  NATURAL    HISTOBI    OF 

and  by  li^'e  evidence,  they  are  found  to  be  a  component  part  of 
the  populations  in  Nortli  Australia,  Polynesia,  and  probably  in 
tbc  eastern  portions  of  South  America,  ulun;  the  blowpipe  is 
likewise  in  use,  and  a  variety  of  practices,  customs,  opinions, 
weapons,  and  industrial  arts;  feather  mantles  and  caps,  tas- 
selled  swords  and  war-clubs,  support  the  opinion  of  a  commu- 
nity of  origin,  which  is  still  further  substantiated  by  legends 
and  traditions. 

The  Malays,  as  before  hinted,  do  not  extend  far  into  the 
interior  of  the  east  coast  of  Sumatra ;  the  local  tribes  belong  to 
the  Orangulu,  extending  thence  to  the  Rejang  Islands;  appar- 
ently they  originate  from  a  mixture  of  the  Negro  type  with 
aberrant  Caucasians,  or  Indo-Chinese,  having  the  slender 
points,  pale  yellow  color,  and  even  the  practice  of  allowing  the 
nails  to  grow,  of  a  Mongolic  character,  though  they  crush  the 
nose  and  draw  out  the  ears,  in  order  to  look  more  like  Papuas. 
In  Java,  the  Malay  stem  is  still  less  predominant ;  for  the 
oldest  population  was  a  race  of  Negro  cannibals,  tenne*d 
Gunos,  who  were  assailed  and  driven  into  the  mountain  fast- 
nesses by  a  nautical  people,  the  real  Javanese,  under  the  com- 
mand of  their  legendary  hero,  Passara.  Now  this  name,  as 
well  as  Javana,  i.  e.,  mixed,  a  mixed  people,  are  both  of  San- 
scrit origin,  and  show  that  the  invaders  were  Indo-Caucasians, 
with  perhaps  only  a  mixture  of  Mongolic,  that  is,  Malay 
blood ;  the  oldest  religious  edifices  are  of  Indian  character ; 
and  from  names,  such  as  Pen-y-gawa  for  a  chief;  Kralon,  a 
palace;  Sasakadom,  a  hall  or  temple,  might  indicate  a  branch 
of  Pandoo  wanderers,  Gomerians,  allied  to  the  Peiasgian  and 
Celtic  tribes  of  the  west, — a  conjecture  further  strengthened 
by  the  Morai  pyramid  of  Suka  before  mentioned.  The  Java- 
nese appear  to  have  sent  colon.sts  to  Madagascar,  since  known 
by  the  name  of  Jacalvas,  who  similarly  waged  war  against 
the  cannibal  Anachimous,  and  were  for  many  ages  noted 
marine  pirates,  distinct  from  the  Joasmees,  who  are  of  Arabian 
origin. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  251 

Further  east,  in  the  island  of  Borneo,  where  true  Malays 
have  the  ascendency,  but  only  reside  on  the  coasts,  there  is 
another  people  distinct  from  them,  partly  sedentary  and  in  part 
exclusively  nautical.  These  are  the  Orang  Darrah  and  Orang 
Laut,  men  of  the  soil  and  men  of  the  sea,  one  maintaining  an 
unequal  struggle  against  the  Malays,  and  the  other  pirates 
from  birth,  and  always  residing  on  board  their  proas ;  freeboot- 
ers in  every  sense,  and  ready  to  aid  in  the  oppression  of  their 
kindred  race  inhabiting  the  interior.  Both  are  nationally 
denominated  Dyaks,  are  fairer  than  the  Malays,  and  most 
likely  allied  to  the  Joasmees  before  noticed.  They  are  of  the 
Horafoura  stem,  also  marine  adventurers,  who,  having  for  ages 
frequented  the  north  coast  of  New  Holland,  have  certainly 
caused  a  further  hybridism  among  the  Papuas  of  that  region, 
and  are  themselves  the  most  mixed  branch  of  Indo-Caucasians 
in  Australasia,  with  a  language  and  religious  notions  originally 
unconnected  with  any  Malay  source.  The  tribes  of  Borneo, 
here  enumerated,  are  evidently  older  possessors  of  the  soil 
than  the  Malays,  and  the  most  ancient  in  these  seas  excepting 
the  Eastern  Negroes,  who  may  be  regarded  as  absorbed  by  them 
in  this  great  island,  since  none  of  the  purely  woolly-haired 
stock  are  now  known  to  remain  in  the  country. 

Celebes  is  principally  inhabited  by  the  Boun,  Bouginee, 
Buges,  or  Bugesses,  of  which  one  nation  is  called  the  Macas- 
sar, and  the  whole  appear  to  be  of  the  same  stem  as  the  Hora- 
fouras.  Here  they  are  again  fairer  than  the  Malays,  with 
very  long  black  hair,  and  soft  silky  beards  and  whiskers. 
Their  original  language,  more  allied  to  southern  dialects  of 
India,  with  the  admixture  of  Sanscrit,  is  now  much  corrupted 
by  the  Malayan.  The  women  of  this  island  are  the  hand- 
somest and  most  polished  of  the  eastern  seas,  setting  the  fash- 
ions which  other  nations  strive  to  imitate ;  and  a  more 
advanced  civilization  is  shown  in  several  articles  of  their  man- 
ufacture, which  are  carried  in  native  vessels  as  far  as  Fort 
Cornwallis.     The  male  population  are  mercantile  resolute  sea- 


252  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

men,  and  the  reputation  they  possess  for  valor  has  caused  thu 
name  of  Macassar  to  be  regarded  as  equivalent  to  warrior.  It 
may  be  questioned,  whether  the  possession  of  some  parts  of 
Malacca,  near  Salengore,  and  Point  Romania,  at  no  great  dis- 
tance from  remains  of  the  Samang  expelled  Oriental  Negroes, 
is  not  also  an  indication  that  the  Buges  tribe  came  from  this 
portion  of  the  continent. 

The  same  observation  is  equally  applicable  to  the  Magin- 
danao,  who  are  also  Horafouras,  that  reached  the  island  when 
the  Philippines  were  still  wholly  possessed  by  Papuas  or 
Bangel-bangel  savages.  Such,  again,  are  the  Bissayans  of 
Lucon ;  the  races  found  onwards  to  Tywan  or  Formosa,  and 
the  Ladrones,  who  are  all  possessed  of  Hindoo  tokens  of 
affinity,  mixed  with  evidence  of  an  original  consanguinity  with 
the  Japanese,  particularly  to  the  eastward ;  and,  according  as 
either  preponderates,  adopting  a  Caucasian  or  a  Mongolic 
ra-tiocination  :  these  mental  qualifications  are  evinced  in  the 
readiness  many  have  shown  to  abandon  their  ancient  idolatry; 
and  the  preference  they  give  to  the  law  of  Mohammed,  rather 
than  to  the  Christian,  is  in  consequence  of  the  former  having 
had  merely  teachers  to  spread  the  new  doctrines,  while  the  latter 
endeavored  to  make  proselytes  by  means  of  Portuguese  and 
Spanish  conquerors.  Of  all  these  tribes,  the  Pagans  were,  or 
still  are,  cannibals;  the  others  have  certain  forms  of  govern- 
ments established,  and  often  written  laws,  in  alphabets  of  their 
own  construction,  having  scarcely  any  retrospect  to  Chinese 
ideas ;  and  they  were  so  little  in  communication  with  pure 
Mongols,  that  it  was  not  until  after  the  arrival  of  European 
navigators,  that  bodies  of  colonists,  from  the  celestial  empire, 
made  their  appearance  in  Luqon  and  Java.  Even  in  Formosa 
the  population  was  alien,  until  refugee  emigrants,  escaping 
from  Mantchou  conquest,  reached  the  island  in  the  seventeenth 
century,  when  the  Dutch  were  already  in  possession  of  it. 

But  notwithstanding  this  historical  fact,   Caucasians    from 
Eastern  China,  Indo-Arabs  from  Western  Asia,  and  unnamed 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  253 

tribes  from  the  Malay  peninsula,  seamen  from  choice  or  neces- 
sity, had  long  before  laid  the  basis  of  the  resident  populations, 
being  in  a  more  or  less  state  of  degradation  by  Oriental  Negro 
interunions.  They  formed  the  numerous  pirate  communities, 
Orang  Laut,  Sea  Gypsies,  Jacalvas  in  Madagascar,  Idaan, 
Marootzie,  Sea  Dyaks  in  Celebes,  Biagoos  or  Bragus  in  Bor- 
neo, some  partially  sedentary,  others  entirely  dwellers  on  the 
seas,  shifting  their  stations  with  the  monsoon,  so  as  to  be 
always  under  the  lee  of  land ;  and,  among  other  supersti- 
tions, like  western  Hindoos,  sending  a  model  canoe,  cursed  and 
loaded  with  the  sins  of  the  people,  far  away  on  the  ocean. 
Their  legends  and  romances,  most  particularly  in  Sumatra  and 
Java,  are  of  Hindoo  origin ;  and  vast  temples  of  Indian  divin- 
ities, such  as  that  of  Boro-budor  in  Java,  point  to  a  Brahmin- 
ical  religious  system  prevailing  there  before  the  Arabian  inno- 
vations of  Islam  came  among  them.  From  families  of  these 
tribes,  rather  than  from  pure  Malays,  the  majority  of  the 
Polynesian  islanders  are  composed ;  their  chiefs  still  bearing 
the  marks  of  higher  Caucasian  castes  than  the  vulgar,  who 
were,  from  the  first,  servants  and  rowers ;  and  both  together 
are  the  descendants  of  wanderers,  blown  off  by  untoward  mon- 
soons, in  like  manner  as  are  still  frequently  witnessed,  in  a 
similar  condition,  on  most  islands  of  the  South  Seas. 

While  the  European  navigator  and  conqueror  is  invariably 
held  to  be  an  enemy,  nothing  but  ancient  amicable  reminis- 
cences can  account  for  the  peaceful  passage  of  Chinese  and 
Japanese  traders  through  most,  if  not  all,  the  seas  infested  by 
the  vast  pirate  fleets  before  mentioned.  A  tacit  law  of  com- 
mon affinity  binds  the  inhabitants  of  the  South  Seas,  even  to 
the  most  remote  islands,  sufficiently  to  receive  among  them  the 
shipwrecked  or  storm-driven  wanderer  on  equal  terms,  excepting 
where  the  resident  population  is  of  purer  Papua  stock ;  for 
these  regard  all  others  as  conquerors,  and  usually  treat  them 
in  the  light  of  victims. 

The  South  Sea  islanders,  beside  feature,  hair,  and  personal 
22 


254  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

conformation,  show  their  consanguinity  with  Caucasians  nost 
distinctly  in  the  structure  of  their  minds.  While  other  savages 
and  barbarians  are  incurious,  merely  satisfied  with  childish  sur- 
prise, or  value  only  the  superior  means  of  destruction  possessed 
by  Europeans;  they  alone,  though  so  near  the  savage  state 
when  first  visited  by  our  navigators,  were  struck  with  the 
wonders  of  civilization  in  a  right  spirit.  No  other  tribe  of 
Man  was  so  desirous  of  learning  the  useful,  the  peaceful,  and 
ornamental  arts  of  Europe.  Some  examples  may  be  quoted  of 
other  races  listening  with  respect  to  the  doctrines  of  religion, 
and  becoming  imperfect  proselytes ;  but  the  Polynesians,  even 
when  they  were  still  cannibals,  embraced  Christianity  with 
ardor,  and  now  hold  it  with  an  intelligent  sincerity,  that 
enables  converts  of  a  late  date  to  become  messengers  of  peace 
to  other  tribes,  and  open  the  path  for  more  educated  teachers. 
They  alone  have  shown  examples  of  chiefs,  quitting  the  pleas- 
ures and  prejudices  of  local  consideration,  who,  for  the  pure 
love  of  benefiting  their  native  land,  have  entered  as  common 
sailors  on  board  British  ships,  that  they  might  visit  England, 
see,  learn,  and  adopt  improvements  in  ship-building,  naviga- 
tion, and  agriculture  ;  procure  seeds  of  triticum  and  legumin- 
ous plants,  and  advance  civilization.  Others  used  the  pleni- 
tude of  power  to  encourage  the  same  object,  to  learn  the  alpha- 
bet, to  read,  write  and  cipher;  they  set  up  a  printing-press,  and 
had  the  honor  to  throw  off  the  first  printed  words  of  the  native 
language.  They  have  shown,  when  at  war  with  the  white 
men  of  Europe,  instances  of  romantic  forbearance  and  valor, 
under  impressions  of  unjustly  suffering  a  public  wrong.  All 
these  seeds  of  human  progress  have  developed  in  the  first  gen- 
eration, since  they  have  become  acquainted  with  better  things, 
and  are  going  on  notwithstanding  the  evil  examples  but  too 
commonly  held  out  to  them.  If,  therefore,  Frederick  Cuvier, 
when  descanting  on  the  trifling  external  characters  of  some 
mammalia,  nearly  allied  in  structure,  be  right  to  recommend 
rigorous  researches  in  their  relative  moral  instincts  and  inteUi- 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  255 

gence,  in  order,  by  their  aid,  to  establish  a  primaeval  unity  of  a 
genus,  how  much  more  important  must  the  same  method  prove 
in  researches  after  the  aboriginal  unity  of  a  sub-typical  stem 
of  Man.  If  there  were  no  such  other  indications  as  have 
already  been  noticed,  by  these  facts  alone  we  may  with  confi- 
dence appeal  to  the  presence  of  a  considerable  portion  of  Cau- 
casian blood,  in  the  composition  of  the  master  race  of  the 
Polynesian  islands.  It  is  undeniably  conspicuous  in  some  of 
the  groups,  less  so  in  others,  and  evident  in  despite  of  linguistic 
considerations,  which,  to  say  the  least,  are  still  not  sufficiently 
mature  to  admit  the  generalizing  conclusions  of  Humboldt. 
The  Maori  tongue  of  New  Zealand  is  an  example,  which, 
while  it  shows  the  presence  of  a  Semitic  element  in  the  com- 
position, is  but  feebly  tinged  with  Malay;  perhaps,  by  reason 
of  the  great  majority  of  its  component  words  being  the  offspring 
of  Papua  dialects,  the  basis  of  the  population  being  originally 
of  Eastern  Negro  derivation,  only  by  degrees  amalgamated  or 
destroyed.  Whence  these  two  races  came,  can  now  be  only 
conjectured  from  the  reminiscences  of  the  people,  that  two 
immigrations  originally  took  place  on  these  islands;  they  still 
name  the  localities,  and  assert  one  to  have  come  from  the  east 
and  the  other  from  the  west.  To  individuals  or  families  of  the 
earliest  Polynesian  wanderers,  the  introduction  of  at  least  one 
system  of  doctrine,  in  South  America,  may  be  ascribed ;  and 
to  another,  of  Caucaso-Mongolians,  a  second,  which  appears  to 
have  reached  the  north-west  coast,  and  finally  to  have  estab- 
lished itself  on  the  plateau  of  Anahuac.  These  considerations 
lead  us  to  the  New  Continent,  before  the  two  historical  arche- 
typical stocks  of  the  Old  can  be  traced  out  without  interrup- 
tion. 

THE  AMERICAN   SUB-TYPICAL  STEM. 

Though  researches  on  the  primitive  population  of  America 
may  be  deemed  unphilosophical,  because  the  conclusions  are 


256  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

not  amenable  to  positive  proofs,  yet  the  inquiry  is  not  without 
profit;  and  surely,  so  long  as  physiologists  continue  to  admit 
the  maxim,  that  mankind  consists  of  one  species  only,  it  must 
involve,  as  a  consequence,  the  necessity  of  migration,  in  order 
to  people  the  earth  in  all  its  habitable  portions ;  or  it  demands 
a  plural  creation  of  the  single  species,  sufficiently  diversified  to 
be  adapted  to  the  varieties  of  climate  and  circumstances 
wherein  they  are  found  to  exist;  in  which  case,  the  term 
"species"  assumes  a  different  acceptation,  and  confounds  the 
notions  hitherto  attached  to  it,  notwithstanding  that  no  positive 
definition  has  been  undeniably  established  to  guide  the  natu- 
ralist. 

Always  regarding  the  flat-headed  Paltas,  Aturians,  or 
primaeval  race  of  South  America,  as  anomalous,  though  evi- 
dently mixed  with  tribes  of  a  more  marked  origin,  and  admit- 
ting that  of  them  some  small  clans,  such  as  the  so-called  Frog 
Indians,  with  probably  others,  are  still  in  being  about  the  val- 
leys on  the  east  side  of  the  Cordilleras,  we  cannot  but  remark, 
considering  the  antiquity  of  the  deposits  and  extensive  range 
where  their  bones  are  discovered,  (from  Brazil  to  the  west 
coast  of  America,)  that  the  stock  is  fast  passing  away.  It  has 
been  supplanted  for  ages,  by  the  Guarany  and  other  nations 
in  Brazil,  whose  Malay  aspect  countenances  the  supposition  of 
their  original  arrival  in  the  New  World  somewhere  about  the 
Californian  coast,  whither  they  seem  to  have  transported,  along 
with  legends  already  pointed  out,  the  practices  of  boring  the 
septum  of  the  nostrils,  the  lobes  of  the  ears,  and  even  the  lips 
and  cheek-bones,  for  the  purpose  of  inserting  therein  bits  of 
bone,  of  shells,  wood,  feather,  or  leaves*  These,  and  other 
fashions  before  described,  they  have  in  common  with  many 
islanders  of  the  South  Seas  and  coasts  of  the  Northern  Pacific  ; 

*  Dr.  Burchell,  Prince  Maximilian  of  Wied,  and  many  other  travellers, 
entertain  similar  ideas  with  ourselves.  The  present  physiologists  who 
draw  other  inferences,  are  not  always  reconcilable  to  each  other  when 
their  arguments  are  generalized. 


TIIE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  257 

and,  if  they  are  not  of  foreign  origin,  they  most  assuredly  are 
startling  coincidences.  But  that  these,  and  nearly  all  other 
invaders  of  the  west  coast,  are  intermixed  with  the  flat-headed 
aboriginals,  is  shown  in  the  artificial  means  employed  by  the 
former  to' obtain  the  resemblance  of  the  flat-head  conformation; 
inflicting  for  this  purpose  daily  torture  upon  their  infants,  till 
the  desirod  effect  is  produced. 

Torture,  self-imposed,  is  indeed  a  part  of  the  education  of 
most  American  tribes,  and  the  habit  is  sufficiently  indicative 
of  the  small  irritability  of  fibre  they  possess,  in  common  with 
the  Mongolic  and  Indo-Papua  races  of  Asia. 

If  the  typical  Flathcads  were  not  a  distinct  species  of  Man, 
they  were,  at  least,  the  oldest  and  first  wanderers  that  reached 
the  American  continent.*  They  appear  to  have  possessed  in 
Peru,  elements  of  social  progress  before  strangers  came  among 
them,  provided  always  that  the  Titicaca  and  other  remains  of 
this  type  represent  the  Peruvian  people  before  the  Incas 
obtained  the  sway.t  The  question  would  certainly  be  more 
doubtful,  if  the  imitation  of  their  cranial  form  had  not  been 
adopted  by  races  of  strangers  in  both  Americas,  and  even  by 
the  aquiline-nosed  hero  tribes,  whose  portraits  still  adorn  the 
ruined  temples  of  Yucatan,  where  they  represent  giant  divini- 

*  Natives  of  scattered  southern  islands,  such  as  the  Malccolcse,  and 
sallow  Papua-Malays  of  some  sandal-wood  islands,  all  distinctly  marked 
with  very  elevated  frontal  bones,  seem  to  countenance  the  probability  that 
there  were  men  of  this  form  in  Polynesia,  but  then  their  frontal  does  not 
appear  depressed. 

t  There  is  a  statement  somewhere,  that  the  Incas  permitted  one  or  more 
villages  of  Flatheads,  taken  during  a  war  of  conquest  to  the  east  of  the 
Andes,  to  settle  near  the  capital  ;  but  this  seems  to  be  at  variance  with 
Dr.  Tschudi's  observations.  It  may  be  right  to  repeat  here,  that  writers 
speak  often  in  very  indefinite  terms  of  American  flat-headed  tribes,  there 
being  certainly  three  very  different  in  form  ;  the  first,  those  whose  crania 
are  naturally  depressed  ;  the  second,  with  the  occiput  obliquely  flattened 
in  a  vertical  manner  (this  belongs  also  to  Peru,  and  is  seen  on  the  Yuca 
tan  images)  ;  the  third  is  the  North  American,  where  both  the  frontal 
and  occiput  are  pressed  down,  bulging  out  laterally.     See  Plate  I. 

22* 


258  NATURAL    HISTORY   OF 

ties  in  the  character  of  conquerors.     Such   homn^  was  never 
paid  hy  conquerors  to  the  vanquished,  unit       I 
in  possession  of  indisputable  superiority  in  arts,  or  in  the  forms 
of  their  institutions,  and  then  the  consequence  is  natural.   We 

see  the  proofs  of  it  in  the  Turkish  imitations  of  the  Byzan- 
.  and  in  the  .Mon^olic  of  the  Chinese. 
The  foot  of  Man  lias  pressed  many  a  soil  which  later  trav- 
ellers assume  was  never  trodden  before  them.  Navigating 
antiquity  knew  many  geographical  facts  that  scholastic  preju- 
dice neglected  for  the  sake  of  grammatical  pursuits.  From 
King  Alfred's  writings  we  know  the  voyage  of  Othere  towards 
the  North  Pole  ;  and  that  even  from  England  navigators  vis- 
ited distant  seas  in  the  ninth  century.  Dicuil's  incidental 
notice  of  Iceland,  in  the  beginning  of  the  same  aire,  was  not 
observed  till  of  late  years.  The  Scandinavian  discover}-  of 
Greenland  was  long  doubted ;  though  it  is  now  proved  that 
these  hardy  seamen  pushed  their  discovery  along  the  coasts  of 
America,  beyond  the  equator,  to  Brazil.  We  have  discredited, 
with  equal  resoluteness,  the  discovery  of  Newfoundland  by  the 
brothers  Zeni,  Venetian  navigators,  seventy  years  before  the 
voyage  of  Columbus,  according  to  Cardinal  Zurla.  Docu- 
ments published  at  Copenhagen  prove  the  same  coast  to  have 
been  repeatedly  visited  by  the  Northmen  from  the  years  9S0 
and  1000  to  13S0 ;  and  the  Biscayen  whalers  seem  to  have 
equally  known  this  region  by  an  accidental  south-easterly 
storm,  which  drove  them  from  their  fishing  station  off  the 
Irish  shores,  in  the  reign  of  King  Henry  VI.,  that  is,  about 
1450;  and  all  this  incredulity  and  apathy,  when  the  names 
of  Brazil,  of  Antillia,  and  the  country  known  as  Newfoundland, 
were  already  noted,  though  not  correctly  laid  down,  in  the  chart 
of  Andrea  Bianca,  bearing  date  1436,  still  in  the  library  of  St. 
Marc  at  Venice.  Columbus  himself  found  the  rudder  of  a  ship 
cast  on  the  beach  at  Guadaloupe.  This  would  be  a  natural 
consequence  of  any  ship  being  disabled,  and  driven  to  the 
south-west,  till  ;t  falls  in  with  the  trade  winds,  which,  perpetu- 


ME    HUMAN    SPECIES.  259 

ally  bl  ving  in  the  same  direction  with  the  currents  westward, 
drive  all  floating  bodies  onwards  to  the  coast  of  the  New- 
World.*  What,  therefore,  the  ancients,  and  more  particularly 
the  Phoenicians  and  Carthaginians,  nay,  the  Celtic  may  have 
done,  beyond  the  Atlantic,  is  not  even  entirely  a  conjectural 
question,  since  there  are  still  extant  elements  of  a  Semitic  dia- 
lect in  certain  tribes  of  South  America,  and  of  Celtic  in  the 
north ;  and  without  the  arrival  of  some  mariners  from  the 
coasts  of  the  Old  Continent,  the  legend  of  Quelsalcoatle,  a 
Toltecan  legislator,  with  Budhistic,  perhaps  Christian  dogmas, 
could  not  have  been  framed  prior  to  the  arrival  of  the  Spaniard  ; 
yet  Cortcz  was  told  that  he  returned  to  the  ea^t;  and  hence 
arose  that  general  belief,  that  beings  of  a  superior  nature  would 
again  visit  the  west  from  their  abode  beyond  the  broad  ocean, 
which  was  fully  established  in  Anahuac.t  But,  stimulated  by 
the  discoveries  of  the  Portuguese,  the  power  and  commercial 
vigilance  of  Spain  successfully  blinded  for  a  time  the  scholastic 
apathy  of  the  rest  of  Europe,  and  persuaded  political  ignorance 
that  it  was  Columbus  who  first  made  the  discovery  of  America. 
Thus,  every  probability  supports  the  opinion,  that  men  from 
Europe  or  Western  Africa  had  reached  the  New  World  long 
before  the  assumed  discovery  of  Columbus  ;  yet  it  does  not 
follow  that  any  who  were  carried  to  the  west  by  the  trade 
winds  ever  returned.  The  Scandinavians,  however,  reached  the 
coast  at  a  high  latitude,  where  the  north-western  winds  pre- 
vail in  autumn,  and  the  marine   current  sets   towards  Europe. 

*  See  Edinburgh  New  Philosophical  Journal,  No.  73,  October,  Jan., 
1845,  where  this  question  is  treated  more  at  length,  in  a  notice  of  the 
Travels  of  Prince  Maximilian  ofWied. 

i  If  the  painted  chronology  of  the  Mexicans  could  be  relied  on,  the 
legislator  priest  came  with  the  Toltecs  to  the  plateau  of  Anahuac,  which 
would  then  be  in  A.  D.  648.  It  was  asserted,  that  he  began  the  pyramid 
of  Cbolula.  There  was  another  legislator  priest,  named  Votan,  who 
arrive!  much  earlier  in  Mexico,  but  then  the  chronology  now  admitted 
must  je  wrong.  See  Don  Antonio  del  Rio.  Teatro  critico  Americano, 
by  F.  Cabrera. 


260  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

Hence  they  returned  to  Iceland  or  to  Norway  with  little 
uncertainty. 

Disregarding  for  a  moment  the  probabilities  already  men- 
tioned of  the  subsidence  of  a  great  extent  of  land  in  the  Pacific 
Ocean,  it  is  evident  that  from  the  East  of  Asia  and  the  Poly- 
nesian Islands,  the  principal  immigrations  of  mankind  have 
taken  place.  Of  these  the  Pitcairn  and  Easter  Islands,  near- 
est to  the  coast  of  South  America,  are  remarkable  for  the  co- 
lossal idols  of  stone,  which  have  been  observed  in  both,  though 
the  first  was  for  a  time  believed  never  to  have  been  inhabited 
before  the  arrival  of  the  mutineers  of  the  Bounty,  and  the 
other  is  now  in  the  possession  of  a  race  who  do  not  claim 
the  fabrication  of  them.  It  may  be  observed,  in  confirmation 
of  the  removal  of  Polynesians  by  war,  by  design,  or  by  stress 
of  weather,  to  the  eastward,  that  to  the  20th  degree  of  south 
latitude,  and  to  more  than  200  leagues  at  sea,  a  south-west 
and  south  cold  wind  blows,  with  a  current  coming  from  the 
pole,  and,  setting  towards  the  south-west  coast,  drives  float- 
ing bodies  on  the  shores  of  Chili.  Easter  Island,  the  farthest 
eastward  of  all  the  Polynesian  groups  containing  inhabitants, 
is  as  remote  from  them  as  from  the  longitude  where  these 
winds  and  currents  prevail ;  hence  the  casual  arrival  of  Poly- 
nesian wanderers  could  scarcely  fail  to  reach  the  coast  of  Chili ; 
and  subsequently  they  were,  it  is  obvious,  driven  eastward,  to 
commix  with  the  Brazilian  tribes,  and  southward,  to  form  the 
race  of  Araucas ;  others,  perhaps  from  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
rre  the  progenitors  of  the  tribes  on  the  Sacramento  river,  on  the 
lorth-west  coast,  where  the  women  still  wear  the  Maro,  and 
the  men  have  short  undulating  hair,  with  beard  and  whiskers 
very  soft  and  silky. 

That  another  immigration  was  continuous  for  ages  from  the 
east  of  Asia,  is  sufficiently  indicated  by  the  pressure  of  nations, 
so  far  as  it  is  known  in  America,  being  always  from  the  north- 
west coasts,  eastward  and  southward,  to  the  beginning  of  the  thir- 
teenth century.     It  appears  to  have  taken  place  mostly  by  the 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  2G1 

Aleu  an  Islands,  and  southward,  to  the  Columbia  and  Cali- 
fornia. Here,  also,  the  facilities  for  this  purpose  were  mostly 
furnished  by  nature,  and  the  propelling  cause,  when  landed,  is 
likewise  detected,  by  the  country  supplying  little  food  between 
the  Rocky  Mountains  and  the  sea.  The  Northern  Pacific  was 
navigated  by  Japanese  tribes  in  ancient  times,  and  is  so  even 
now,  although,  since  the  appearance  of  European  navigators, 
the  trade  has  been  discontinued,  if  not  absolutely  forbidden ; 
yet,  within  these  few  years,  a  British  vessel  boarded  a  Japa- 
nese junk  within  two  days'  sail  of  the  California  coast,  and 
found  that  it  had  drifted,  without  human  care,  for  many 
months,  and  that,  of  forty  of  the  ship's  company,  only  seven 
persons  survived.  This  vessel,  having  lost  its  course,  was  car- 
ried by  the  prevailing  winds  and  currents  of  that  portion  of  the 
Pacific  to  the  eastward,  and  was  in  all  probability  wrecked  on 
the  American  coast,  after  the  living  people  had  been  taken  out 
of  her  and  saved.*' 

Here  then,  we  have  likewise,  on  the  east  side,  instances,  not 
of  facilities,  but  of  necessary  consequences,  of  vessels  reaching 
the  west  coast,  so  soon  as  they  are  placed  within  the  influence 
of  the  winds  and  currents  which  prevail,  either  constantly  or 
at  certain  periods  of  the  year,  in  the  latitudes  above  indicated ; 
nor  is  there  a  want  of  proof  that  canoes,  with  a  proportion 
of  Polynesians,  have  survived  the  hardships  of  four  months  at 
sea,  nor  that  they  have  been  found  at  eight  hundred  leagues' 
distance  from  their  homes;  for  both  facts  are  noticed  by  our 
navigators  in  the  tropical  Pacific;  and  by  the  Aleutians,  a  con- 
tinuous chain  of  islands  passing  from  one  quarter  of  the  globe 
to  the  other,  a  route  is  established,  as  if  they  were  intended  for 
an  easy  and  speedy  method  of  crossing  between  them.  But 
though  timber  for  canoes  and  sea-rafts  is  abundant,  both  on  the 
north  and  south  points  of  departure,  there  is  scarcely  any  near 

*  They  were  arried  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  and  thence,  by  the  first 
opportunity,  sej    on  to  their  native  land. 


262  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

the  vestern  coast  of  America  to  keep  up  marine  habits,  nor  are 
there  navigable  rivers  without  bars,  nor  ports  with  safe  places 
for  landing,  but  mostly  everywhere  an  open,  barren,  sandy,  or 
rocky  shore,  beaten  by  a  heavy  surf.*  Hence,  on  this  side  of 
the  Americas,  if  arrivals  were  not  frequent,  departures  were 
impossible,  excepting  in  the  more  northern  latitudes ;  and  that 
these  had  been  crossed  and  recrossed  may  be  presumed,  even 
in  case  the  assertion  of  Chinese  scholars,  that  America  was 
known  by  the  name  of  Fu-sang,  and  mentioned  in  the  great 
annals  of  the  celestial  empire,  down  to  the  fifth  century  of  our 
era,  was  a  mistake.!  The  absence  of  Chinese  forms  of  speech 
on  the  American  continent  is  not  absolute,  since  the  Othomi 
language,  spoken  on  the  north  of  the  valley  of  Mexico,  is  mon- 
osyllabic. In  Europe,  we  know  the  existing  eastern  tongues 
of  the  Mongolic  stock  so  imperfectly,  that  the  work  of  Dr. 
Pfitzmayer  on  the  Japanese,  though  not  directed  towards  the 
spoken  dialects  of  the  more  remote  islands  of  the  empire,  yet 
shows  that  the  learned  had,  until  lately,  a  very  slight  acquaint- 
ance with  it,  and  often  mistook  written  Chinese  for  the  Niphon 
language. t  Even  the  learned  Chinese  is  more  a  lettered  than 
a  nationally  spoken  vehicle  of  thought ;  and  in  both  the  em- 
pires, the  written  is  partly  different  from  the  spoken  tongues, 
though  the  characters,  being  symbols  instead  of  alphabetical 

*  The  surf  in  many  places  is  as  high  and  violent  as  at  Madras,  and 
there  being  little  wood  procurable  on  the  coast,  the  natives  invented  great 
floats  of  inflated  seal  skins,  which  are  still  in  use.  They  had  formerly  cat- 
amarans, like  those  on  the  Coromandel  coast.  Models  of  these  are 
frequently  found,  with  a  double-bladed  paddle,  in  the  graves  of  the  aborigi- 
nal inhabitants  ;  but,  from  California  to  Peru,  rafts,  balzas,  or  janjadas, 
served,  capable  of  carrying  great  loads  with  safety,  sailing  with  uncom- 
mon speed.  See  Charnock's  Marine  Architecture,  vol.  i.,  p.  13.  Ealza 
wood  is  a  very  light  kind  of  palm. 

t  See  C.  Frederick  Neumann  and  De  Guines,  though  Klaproth  sup- 
poses Niphon  or  Japan  is  meant ;  Japan,  however,  bears  a  different  name 
or  names  in  the  same  innals. 

t  A  Dictionary  in  the  so-called  Tirokana  characters,  containing  40,000 
words,  is  in  preparatio.t   by  Dr.  Pfitzmayer,  at  Vienna. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  £63 

signs,  can  be  interpreted  by  words  in  several  languages,  differ- 
ing in  every  other  respect  from  each  other.  Thus,  there  can- 
not be  a  reliance  on  arguments  drawn  from  the  difference  of 
American  languages  from  the  Mongolic ;  they  vary  among  the 
distinct  families  of  North  America,  as  much  as  from  any  Tah- 
tar  tongue  ;  and  there  exist  sufficient  coincidences  and  similar- 
ities in  the  sounds  of  words,  as  well  as  in  the  opinions,  man- 
ners and  practices  of  the  natives,  resembling  those  of  Eastern 
Asia,  when  taken  with  the  other  arguments  already  produced, 
as  to  overthrow  the  whole  fabric  of  an  exclusively  American 
aboriginal  species  or  form  of  man,  constituting  the  races  of  that 
continent,  always  excepting  the  Flathead  type,  which,  it  must 
be  owned,  constitutes  an  ingredient  very  generally  diffused 
through  the  native  tribes,  but  not  their  principal  portion. 
Even  the  most  determined  advocates  of  the  original  unity  of  the 
races  reject  the  Esquimaux,  who  are  admitted  to  be  of  an 
Asiatic  stock,  when  they  should  also  reflect,  that,  in  the  north- 
ern portion,  several  tribes  of  the  present  Indians,  such  as  the 
Iroquois,  confess  that  they  dwelt  themselves  in  the  high  north 
before  they  migrated  to  their  present  habitation ;  while  the 
Tschutski  of  Eastern  Asia  are  assumed  to  be  of  the  American 
stem ;  accommodating  the  conclusion  to  a  reversed  order  of  migra- 
tion, which,  with  singular  inconsistency,  admits  the  practicabil- 
ity, on  hypothetical  grounds,  in  favor  of  utter  savages,  what  it 
refuses  to  the  ancient  and  middle  ages  of  great  and  organized 
nations,  who  were  navigators  both  on  the  east  and  west  of  the 
New  World,  and  for  times  when  facilities  for  that  purpose  were 
apparently  more  at  hand  than  in  later  ages;  for,  by  strangely  re- 
versing the  natural  order  of  human  dispersion,  another  and  prob- 
ably not  inconsiderable  transition  from  Asia  is  disregarded  ;  one 
which,  being  taken  in  connection  with  the  more  immediate 
facility,  by  an  entire,  or  almost  an  entire,  communication  by 
land,  when  Behring's  Straits  had  not  yet  greatly  widened, 
obviated  all  serious  difficulty.  At  that  period  not  only  Esqui- 
maux, but  Finnic,  and  the  north-eastern  Caucasian  races,  here- 


264  NATURAL   HISTORY    OP 

after  to  be  mentioned,  had  no  doubt  inducements  which  brought 
the  parent  families  of  the  high-nosed  and  other  nations  of 
North  America  to  that  continent;  and  the  influence  of  rigor- 
ous winter  seasons  must  have  gradually  induced  them  to  seek 
milder  latitudes,  where  more  plentiful  means  of  subsistence 
were  accessible,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  nations  of  northern 
Asia  and  Europe  have  and  ever  will  continue  to  do  when  they 
have  a  chance  of  success.  It  is  perhaps  here  that  we  must 
look  for  the  sources  of  those  multiplied  evidences  of  Asiatic 
origin,  shown  by  most,  if  not  all,  the  American  tribes,  both 
those  of  the  IMongolic  or  of  the  beardless  stock,  and  of  the  true 
Caucasian  ;  for,  when  the  former  of  these  had  journeyed  almost 
entirely  southward,  tribes  of  the  latter  appear  to  have  occupied 
their  abandoned  localities,  and,  in  a  pure  condition,  or  blended 
with  such  as  remained  behind,  to  have  parsed  on  across  the 
isthmus,  or  the  straits,  to  the  American  shore,  whither  they,  in 
their  turn,  were  followed  by  the  Esquimaux  or  Skrelings,  who, 
it  is  evident,  came  last,  since  their  descendants  have  never  been 
able  to  penetrate  more  to  the  south  than  the  shores  of  Nootka. 
All  these  occurrences  coincide  with  the  known  progress  of 
the  Caucasian  nations  to  western  Asia  and  to  Europe.  They 
account  for  the  presence  of  similar  inscriptions  in  Siberia  and 
in  America,  and  for  many  of  the  facts  of  the  peopling  of  the 
new  continent  at  a  later  period  than  the  west  of  the  Old  World ; 
they  admit,  without  violence,  the  usual  immigrations  of  dis- 
tressed marine  wanderers,  whether  they  were  of  Malay  or  of 
Phoenician  origin,  and  even  of  African  as  well  as  Oriental 
Negroes ;  such  as  the  colony  of  the  former  found  at  Cariquel, 
near  the  Isthmus  of  Darien,  or  the  now  exterminated  Char- 
ruans  *  of  the  Guarani,  or,  like  the  latter,  found  in  a  mixed 
state  on  the  shores  of  California.  This  view  gives  sufficient 
time  for  the  local  intermixture  of  the  races  with  the  fiat-headed 

*  These  may  be  the  same  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  mentions  as  having  lank 
hair  ia  Guiana,  where  he  observed  them. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  2G5 

aboriginal,  whose  peaceful  phlegmatic  habits  readily  yielded  to 
the  turbulent  activity  of  male  adventurers,  and  accounts  for  the 
various  other  phenomena  which  attend  the  question  under  con- 
sideration. 

In  the  successive  struggles  of  nations,  which  must  have 
ensued,  for  hunting  grounds  or  for  dominion,  the  more  advanced 
nave  evidently  been  obliged  to  yield  to  those  from  the  north. 
Whether  both  originally  came  from  the  same  quarter,  or  one 
had  previously  arrived  by  a  marine  route,  the  result  was  the 
same.  The  proofs  are  seen  in  the  ruins  of  vast  castral  cities, 
and  human  tumuli,  still  extant  in  the  United  States ;  in  the 
Maen  Stones  and  Cromlehs  of  the  more  eastern  regions;*  in 
the  pyramids  and  temples  possessed  by  the  successive  nations 
of  Mexico  ;  and,  if  the  singularly  squared  cone  in  the  middle 
of  a  lake  of  Northern  California  be  wholly  or  in  part  the  work 
of  Man,  it  may  be  a  memorial  of  departure,  or  a  mark  of  direc- 
tion for  other  tribes,  perhaps  similar  to  the  semi-artificial  pile 
of  Chehel  Suton  —  that  antique  landmark  of  migration,  and 
directing  guide  of  caravans,  situated  on  the  edge  of  the  western 
Gobi  desert, almost  midway  between  Pekin  and  Constantinople, 
or  Serica  and  Byzantium.  At  all  events,  it  would  then  point 
out  the  station  which  the  builders  of  similar  edifices  in  America 
once  occupied  in  their  earliest  day,  and  confirm  the  conjecture 
that  the  Wapisians  of  Guiana,  at  least,  are  of  those  tribes, 
which,  at  a  period  long  anterior  to  the  march  of  the  Ulmecks 
and  Toltecs,  nations  of  a  kindred  race,  had  passed  over  the  pla- 
teau of  Anahuac.  Beside  the  monosyllabic  Othomi  language, 
there  is  a  similar  mode  of  connecting  sounds  into  long  strung 
words,  pervading  the  American,  Astec  and  Maya,  approach- 
ing Finnic  and  Tahtar  dialects ;  the  syllables  Ac  or  Ak,  Uk 
and  Kith,  often  recur  in  the  northern  Indian  tongues ;  and  Tla 
and  Tie  in  the  Mexican  ;  sounds  which  are  again  found  in  the 
speech  of  the  Arctic  nations  of  both  continents.     In  addition  to 

*  At  North  Salem,  New  York  ;  at  Winipignan  river,  on  tho  O^io.  &c. 

23 


266  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

these  rude  and  simple  characteristics  of  a  mixed  Tahtar  and 
Finnic  form  of  speech,  there  are  Scythic  words,  that  is,  words 
of  Sanscrit  origin,  which  can  scarcely  be  coincidence*,  and 
rather  show  that  some  tribes,  perhaps  of  kindred  Yuchi,  passed 
over  to  the  western  continent.  Again,  Semitic  words  occur 
rather  profusely  in  the  Carib  and  Makusi  dialects*  and  strik- 
ing coincidences  of  similarity  between  certain  tribes  of  Aus- 
tralia and  the  Fuegians  of  the  Straits  of  ^Magellan  are  pointed 
out  by  Captain  Stokes,  in  his  voyage  of  discovery  lately  pub- 
lished. 

One,  more,  or  all  the  nations  of  America  had,  besides,  creeds, 
usages,  and  traditions,  in  common  with  stems  of  the  Old 
Continent,  and  particularly  with  Asiatic  tribes.  Such,  among 
others,  were  the  diluvian  legends  and  the  celestial  dragons' 
attempts  to  devour  the  moon  during  the  appearance  of  an 
eclipse.  Next,  there  still  exists  in  the  northern  portion  a  basis 
of  pure  Deism,  coinciding  with  the  common  belief  of  all  the 
nations  of  high  and  northern  Asia.  It  was  ever  independent 
of  tribal  and  subordinate  divinities,  and  admits  of  various 
forms,  such  as  Shamanism,  with  its  demonology,  and  the  more 
moral  system  of  Budhism  ;  one  being  outwardly  remarkable 
for  sorcery,  incantation,  the  magical  drum,  and  rattles  ;  the 
other  for  several  religious  monastic  orders,  for  penances,  self- 

*  Thus,  in  the  Dakotah  dialects,  which  convert  31  to  W,  the  Teutonic 
Mag,  large,  becomes  Wdh  and  Wak,  great,  superior,  master.  Wehrman, 
warrior,  is  converted  to  Wcroicanic.  a  war  chief,  &c.  Sachem,  a  priest 
chief,  ma}'  be  derived  from  the  same  root  as  segher,  a  priest,  from  sagen, 
to  speak,  and  belong  to  the  series  with  gesach,  schah,  &c,  authority,  right 
to  speak,  to  command.  Hooloo  is  holy,  sacred  ;  min,  many,  plural ;  Hogh 
or  Oug,  high,  superior,  &c.  In  other  dialects  we  find  Eloa  to  denote 
God  ;  and,  in  the  Carib,  Makusi,  &c,  there  are,  among  many  other, 
Tavxoosi,  Phoenician,  Tammus,  for  God  ;  Karbet  is  the  same  as  Grabit, 
a  house  ;  together  with  usages  and  opinions  closely  allied  to  those  of  the 
ancient  nations  of  Syria.  The  Mexican  words,  Atzlan,  Tlapallan,  Teno- 
titslan,  without  radical  meanings  in  the  language,  are  readily  convertible 
into  very  appropriate  appellations  in  several  Caucasian  la"  guages. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  267 

mortification,  and  undying  chief-priests,  and  both  recurring  in 
the  New  World ;  nay,  tokens  of  what  seems  a  Christian  doc- 
trine are  detected  in  the  worship  of  the  cross,  repeatedly  found 
carved  among  the  ruins  of  Palenque.  There  are,  moreover, 
evidences  of  Hebrew  lore  in  the  metal  plates  dug  out  of  the 
same  ruins,  where  the  serpent  is  represented  twisted  round  a 
tree ;  and  another,  with  a  naked  human  figure,  kneeling  in 
the  attitude  of  supplication,  surrounded  by  huge  monsters, 
among  trees  of  a  tropical  forest.*  What  makes  these  repre- 
sentations still  more  remarkable,  is,  that  though  they  belong 
to  the  high-nosed  Toltecs,  the  mystical  figure  in  distress  has 
neither  the  features  nor  flat  occiput  of  that  people,  nor  the 
posture  of  prayer  which  belonged  to  the  idolatrous  nations  of 
Anahuac.  They  had,  it  is  true,  a  serpent  or  Naga  worship, 
and  believed  that  tutelary  genii  appeared  to  mortals  in  the 
animal  forms  assigned  to  constellations.  But  this  very  fact 
is  again  an  indication  that  even  the  astronomical  signs  of 
Asia  had  passed  over  to  them,  for  they  were  figured  in  astro- 
logical books  which  were  employed  for  incantations  by  an  Aste- 
can  order  of  priests.  The  medicine  men,  with  their  drums, 
are  still  perfect  counterparts  of  Siberian  Shamans,  who  per- 
form their  mummeries  with  a  like  instrument,  similarly 
painted. 

The  nations  of  Anahuac  were  acquainted,  like  the  Tahtars, 
with  a  great  dragon  standard;  had,  like  the  Thibetans,  huge 
banner  lances,  such  as  are  still  planted  before  Lamaite  tem- 
ples and  palaces  ;  and  there  were  ensign  spears  similar  to 
those  of  ancient  Bactria  :  one  of  these  was  the  Shiemagun  of 
the  Chippeways,  the  other  was  the  guiding  sign  of  the  Choc- 
taws,  during  their  great  migration  from  the  west.  The  Mexi- 
cans had  some  adorned  with  wings  and  feathers  like  the  Huns 

*  The  priesthood  kneaded  maize  flour  with  blood,  and  baked  it  in  the 
form  of  the  god  of  war,  then  broke  and  gave  it  in  morsels  to  the  people, 
who  partook  with  signs  of  humiliation!  See  Prescott's  valuable  History. 
Was  this  Budhism  ? 


268  NATI  RAI    HIST0B1     "I 

and  early  Turk--.  The  nations  of  the  plateau  of  Mexico  had 
all  a  practice  of  fixing  several  ensigns  or  banners,  Muck  in 
ferula,  at  the  hack  of  a  warrior,  like  the  earl:      (  se,  or 

they  attached  them  to  their  shields;  which  was  lib 
unexampled  in  Asia.  Symbolical  devices,  almost  amounting 
to  real  heraldry,  designating  even  at  this  time  many  tribes  of 
North  America,  were  thoroughly  understood  in  Mexico,  and 
are  likewise  well  known  to  all  the  Tab  tar  nations  ol 
Tiny  had,  it  is  asserted,  the  use  of  a  peculiarly  Chin< 
ment,  the  well-known  gong;  but  more  likely  it  was  a  great 
drum,  audible,  according  to  Beroal  Diaz,  to  the  distance  of 
two  leagues;  the  same  as  the  Nakara  of  Southern  Asia.  In 
common  with  Tahtar  nations,  nuptial-  were  symbolized  by  the 
ceremony  of  tying  the  garments  together  of  the  two  contract- 
ing parties;  and,  like  them,  there  was  only  one  lawful  wife, 
though  there  might  be  a  plurality  of  concubines.  In  very  an- 
cient graves,  not  far  distant  from  Niagara,  human  debris  have 
been  detected,  having  with  them  a  reversed  shell  of  the  whilk 
(Buccinum)  exactly  similar  to  the  Shonk  found  in  the  tumuli 
of  ancient  Ceylon.* 

Peru,  with  its  Paha  people,  instinctively  builders,  has  left 
ruins  of  huge  walls,  surpassing  the  Cyclopean  and  Pelasgian 
structures  of  the  older  continent  in  bulk,  and  superior  to  them 
in  artistic  skill.  From  the  institutions,  religious,  humane  and 
moral,  the  legislator  of  the  Incas  has  rarely  been  considered 
by  the  learned  to  be  of  indigenous  origin,  but  more  generally 
as  a  Japanese  or  a  Brahmin  philosopher,  who,  if  he  were  an 
Asiatic,  certainly  did  not  traverse  the  Pacific  alone.  Several 
nations  in  both  parts  of  the  continent,  had,  like  the  Oceanians 
of  the  South  Sea,  and  of  the  north-east  of  Asia,  a  bone  thrust 
through  the  cartilage  of  the  nose ;  they  had  also  swords  with 
tassel  handles,  like  the  3Ialays,  feather  mantles,  and  decora- 

*  The  fact  was  communicated  to  us  by  Captain  Chapman,  late  Royal 
Engineers,  who  had  examined  both  instances  on  the  spot. 


THE    HUM  AN    SPECIES.  269 

tions   like    natives    of  the    Sandwich    and    other   Polynesian 
islands. 

The  progressing  nations,  and,  in  particular,  among  those 
of  Anahuac,  the  Mexicans,  were  a  bearded  and  hairy  race,  and, 
bein^  in  a  state  of  creator  civilization  than  oilier  American 
tribes,  they  were  in  a  condition  of  representing  more  circum- 
stantially the  tenor  of  their  ancestral  history.  Accordingly, 
they  had  traditions,  supported  by  hieroglyphics!  maps,  which 
marked  the  Stag)  -  of  their  ancient  migration  from  the  north 
to  their  arrival  on  the  plateau  of  the  Andes,  where  they 
founded  Mexico  in  1325  of  our  era,  according  to  Clavigero. 
They  had  then  already  resided  at  Tula  and  its  vicinity  for 
above  a  century,  gradually  dislodging  other  tribes,  who  had 
successively  pressed  upon  each  other  from  the  same  quarter. 
These  were  chiefly  the  Acalhuans,  Chichimecas  and  Toltecs, 
whose  first  arrival  is  referred  to  so  early  a  time  as  the  year  (>  IS  ; 
and  even  these  were  posterior  to  the  Ulmecs  :  but  the  dates 
may  not  be  safely  relied  upon  ;  and  the  charts  themselves, 
though  still  existing,  at  least  in  copies,  cannot  be  deciphered 
with  trustworthy  precision.  The  point  of  primaeval  departure 
i--.  however,  designated  by  the  names  of  Aztlan  (the  Eden,  or 
land  of  nourishment),  and  Huekuetlapallan,  which  has  been 
interpreted,  the  1 » r i _r  1 1 1  abode  of  ancestors,  a  region  which  cer- 
tainly lay  in  the  north  ;  and,  when  coupled  with  the  departure, 
i. i  hides  likewise  the  west.  This  region  was  certainly  not  the 
valley  of  the  river  Gila,  in  California,  notwithstanding  that  a 
cognate  language  is  still  spoken  there,  and  that  ruins  of  mag- 
nitude attest  there  was  anciently  a  people  residenl  on  the  spot 
already  in  a  progressive  state  of  civilization.  It  is  probable 
that  this  people  were  the  Astecans,  who  may  have  resided  on 
the  locality  until  they  had  increased  to  a  nation,  and  were 
forced  to  depart  by  pressure  from  behind ;  for  sedentary  nations 
do  not  abandon  cities  and  temples  but  by  force,  or  by  the  fear 
of  foreign  and  unknown  invaders,  from  whom  they  expect  no 
mercy.  It  is  a  curious  coincidence  of  time,  that  these  great 
23* 


270  NATURAL   HISTORY    01 

recorded  migrations  in  America  correspond  sufficiently  well 
with  the  same  kind  of  migratory  and  invading  wars  in  Asia, 
which  precipitated  the  Yuchi  from  Chinese  Tahtary  west- 
ward, and  brought  the  Ilyatili  or  White  Huns  first  to  compi'i 
Cabul  and  Bactria ;  being  followed  by  true  Mongolic  nations 
till  their  hordes  established  themselves  beyond  the  Danube 
and  the  Vistula.  These  are  uncontrovertible  signs  of  the  great 
expansion  which  the  beardless  stock  then  made  in  north  and 
eastern  Asia  ;  and  may  well  account  for  clans  of  Caucasians, 
such  as  still  have  possession  of  sundry  mountain  chains  in 
China,  taking  refuge  towards  America,  by  a  route  sufficiently 
near  the  Arctic  Circle  to  give  the  north  and  west  for  a  true 
point  of  their  first  abode  on  that  continent.  Followed,  as  all 
fugitive  nations  are,  by  their  enemies,  no  doubt  real  Mongo- 
lians came  after  them  ;  and  both,  in  departing  from  eastern 
Asia,  lost  their  horses  and  their  nautical  habits.  Thus,  these 
migrations  of  distinct  types  may  be  a  cause  of  the  intermediate 
character  of  the  present  Aleutian  Islanders.* 

With  these  facts  before  us,  it  is  vain  to  assert  that  all  Ameri- 
can races,  excepting  the  Esquimaux,  have  originally  sprung  from 
one  stock  ;  for  many  more  coincidences  could  be  enumerated  ; 
and  while  one  like  the  last  mentioned  is  admitted  to  be  of  the 
beardless  type,  of  Ouralian  or  of  Finnic  origin,  surely  others 
could  migrate  in  a  similar  direction,  at  earlier  periods,  when, 
in  all  probability,  this  passage  was  much  more  practicable; 
and,  according  to  observations  made  by  Biot,  the  climate  less 

*  See  Warden's  Antiquites  Americaines.  Pennant's  Arctic  Zoology, 
Introduction  ;  where«many  other  customs,  common  to  the  Scythians,  and 
to  the  North  American  nations,  are  enumerated.  There  is  a  Japanese 
map  now  in  the  British  Museum,  which  marks  islands  in  the  straits  of 
Behring,  and  notices  the  region  by  the  name  of  Ya-zue  (the  kingdom  of 
the  dwarfs),  that  is,  the  diminutive  Esquimaux.  This  map,  presented  by 
Kcempfer  to  Sir  Hans  Sloane,  is,  therefore,  of  comparative  antiquity,  and 
shows  Behring's  Straits  to  have  been  known  to  the  Mongolic  stock  long 
before  Behring  made  the  discovery,  or  Cook  fixed  the  real  position  of  the 
two  coasts. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  271 

severe  than  at  present.  More  than  twenty  tribes  of  Indians, 
of  the  present  territory  of  the  United  States  and  Canada, 
record  their  migration  either  from  the  north,  or  from  beyond 
the  Rocky  Mountains.  Many  of  these  nations  have  therefore 
occupied  a  high  northern  latitude  on  the  west  coast ;  regions 
now  mostly  in  the  hands  of  Esquimaux  tribes,  who,  as  they 
have  replaced  them,  have  evidently  arrived  after  their  depart- 
ure :  the  former  tribes,  not  emphatically  fish-eaters,  but  hunt- 
ers, when,  from  single  families,  or  from  a  race  mixed  with  the 
indigenous  Flatheads,  they  had  increased  to  tribes;  and  when 
in  that  little  productive  region,  where  game  is  rare,  they  could 
no  longer  remain  stationary,  must  have  sought  subsistence  in 
and  beyond  the  mountain  chain  ;  for  to  the  east  only,  with 
the  exception  of  the  valleys  of  California,  could  they  find  the 
Bison,  the  Elk,  the  white  mountain  Goat,  the  Ahzata,  Argali, 
prong-horned  Antelope,  and  the  wapiti  Stag.  In  pursuit  of 
game,  they  must  have  come  upon  the  sources  and  feeders  of 
the  great  rivers  that  run  to  the  south-east,  and  fall  into  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  or  the  Atlantic.  They  would  naturally  follow 
their  course,  or  crossing  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  to  richer 
woody  regions  beyond  the  Alleghanies,  occupy  the  eastern  prov- 
inces of  the  present  United  States  and  Canada.  Other  tribes 
of  the  west,  probably  immigrants  of  later  periods,  and  pos- 
sessed of  higher  attainments,  even  with  a  remnant  of  nautical 
means,  descended  between  the  islands  and  the  coast,  till  they 
reached  the  rivers  now  significantly  denominated  de  los  Mar- 
tires,  and  de  los  Piramides  ;  and  thence,  crossing  the  Colorado, 
rested  for  some  ages  in  the  valley  of  the  Gila.1*  Here  they 
gradually  multiplied,  advanced  in  civilization,  and  raised  those 
structural  monuments  which  are  still  to  be  seen  in  their  ruins  ; 
thence,  in  successive  waves,  ascending  the  plateau  of  the  An- 
des, they  made  their  appearance  in  Anahuac,  to  seize  new  and 

*  Surely  these  point  out  two  or  more  of  the  Astecan  halting  places. 


272  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

perhaps  better  settlements;  but,  from  their  new  position,  event- 
ually forsaking  all  acquaintance  with  navigation. 

Thus  are  shown  those  successive  proceedings  of  nations  in 
the  New  World,  which  were  counterparts  of  the  well-known 
invasions  of  the  northern  tribes  in  the  Old  ;  both  radiating 
from  a  common  centre;  surmounting  obstacles  of  seas,  deserts, 
swamps,  forests,  and  mountain-chains  ;  surviving  mutual 
slaughters,  victories  and  defeats,  till  they  reach  the  utmost 
limits  of  the  habitable  earth.  If  now  we  inquire  whether  the 
nations  of  America  attest,  in  their  structure,  the  various  origin 
here  shown,  or  have  a  uniformity  of  characteristics,  which 
many  eminent  physiologists,  together  with  Dr.  Morton,  contend 
for,  we  shall  find  great  evidence  of  a  common  type  very  gen- 
erally, but  not  unexceptionably,  pervading  the  nations  in  ques- 
tion. It  is  found  chiefly  in  the  great  vertical  prolongation  of 
the  frontal  bone,  though  this  distinction,  we  have  before 
noticed,  is  not  exclusively  American  :  it  varies  in  size,  probably, 
according  to  the  degree  of  intermixture  different  tribes  have 
received  —  there  being,  besides,  populations  on  the  coasts  of 
the  sea  of  Okotsk,  and  even  on  Saghalin  Island,  similarly  dis- 
tinguished.* Many  Japanese,  particularly  Bonzes  of  the  lower 
classes  of  the  nation,  have  the  forehead  remarkably  depressed. 
In  several  portions  of  the  New  Continent,  the  oblique  eyes, 
complexion,  and  other  characters  of  Mongols  occur,  as  among 
the  Alikhoolis  of  Terra  del  Fuego ;  but  the  Chilenos  have 
strikingly  Hindoo  features. 

*  It  is  externally  apparent,  in  some  abnormal  tribes  of  the  Polynesian 
islands,  and  exclusive  of  the  Flathead  Paltas,  most  conspicuous  in  peak- 
headed  natives  of  Kotzebue's  Sound,  on  the  north-west  coast,  who, 
though  they  do  not  belong  to  the  Esquimaux  stem,  are  more  like  natives 
of  the  east  coast  of  Asia;  and  if  these  are  claimed  as  a  portion  of  the 
Tschutski  race,  then  they  would  show  the  last  mentioned  to  be  originally 
not  American,  but  Asiatic,  nay  Finnic  ;  and,  consequently,  that  the  cra- 
nial conformation  in  question  is  not  peculiar  to  the  New  World  ;  but  an 
excessive  divergence  arising  in  an  abnormal  stem,  where  the  sutures  close 
more  slowly  than  in  the  typical  stocks. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIE3.  273 

In  general,  however,  it  is  evident  that  the  nations  of  this 
portion  of  the  globe  possess  a  marked  similarity  of  physical 
characters.  They  have  a  small  skull,  varying  in  the  capacity 
of  the  cranial  chamber  from  100  to  60  cubic  inches,  according 
to  Dr.  Morton's  measurement.  It  approaches  the  Mongolian 
in  shape,  but  the  summit  is  more  rounded,  and  the  sides  are 
less  angular.  In  some  tribes  there  is  a  somewhat  more  pointed 
crown,  and  the  back  part  is  often  flattened,  in  most  cases  arti- 
ficially so ;  the  cheek-bones  are  high,  the  forehead  naturally 
rather  low  and  depressed;  the  nose  prominent;  in  a  few  tribes 
aquiline ;  maxilla?  powerful ;  the  mouth  rather  large,  and  the 
lips  full,  if  not  tumid.  The  eyes  of  all  the  nations  are  black, 
and  the  hair  rather  scarce,  lank,  and  coarse;  though,  among 
the  Arauca  mountaineers,  and  also  on  the  west  coast,  gray 
eyes  and  lighter  colored  hair  are  sometimes  seen.  These 
tribes,  also,  are  as  fair  as  southern  Europeans.  The  South 
Americans  are  more  yellow  than  copper-colored  ;  but  in  the 
northern  portion  the  skin  is  reddish,  agreeing  with  the  distinct- 
ive name  which  the  native  tribes  bestow  upon  themselves ;  that 
color  being  formed  by  a  peculiar  tissue  below  the  epidermis, 
according  to  Flourens,  but  yet  not  nearly  so  vivid  as  we  have 
often  observed  it  to  be  among  French  and  Spanish  fishermen 
in  the  West  Indies.*  The  Caribs  are  intermediate :  some 
tribes  of  Guiana  much  darker  than  Mulattoes,  and  the  Cali- 
fornians  almost  black,  or  dark  like  Samboes. 

In  most  respects,  the  aboriginal  population  may  be  divided 
into  the  yellow  tropical  semi-Malay  stem  of  the  eastern  regions 
of  South  America,  and  the  Caucaso-Mongolians  of  the  north, 
and  of  the  Cordilleras,  along  the  whole  west  coast  of  the  conti- 

*  We  have  personally  compared  and  drawn  from  life  many  individuals 
of  dillerent  tribes:  —  Fuegians,  Brazilians,  Arookas,  Carihs,  Mosquito 
Indians,  Seminoles,  &c.,  of  the  United  States,  and  others  in  Canada  of 
different  northern  tribes.  The  highly  developed  reddish  color  may  be  a 
result  of  the  long-continued  action  of  dry,  sharp  winds  in  the  prairies  of 
Upper  North  America. 


274  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

nent.  The  frame  is,  in  general,  symmetrical,  rather  tumid;  in 
the  one,  below  the  middle  stature;  in  the  other  portion,  gener- 
ally above  it;  and  among  some  tribes,  equal  to  the  largest  men 
of  the  old  continent.  With  regard  to  mental  qualifications,  the 
nations  of  North  America,  not  having  passed  beyond  the  state 
of  hunters,  show,  for  want  of  the  laboring  Ox  and  conquering 
Horse,  the  characteristics  of  others  in  the  same  condition. 
Thoy  arc  active,  vigilant,  daring,  revengeful,  restless,  cruel,  but 
capable  of  lofty  feelings  ;  full  of  hospitality,  of  the  love  of  truth, 
and  of  vast  earnestness  of  purpose,  when  once  their  attention  is 
roused.  Ruins  still  extant  in  nearly  every  region  of  the  conti- 
nent, and,  still  more,  history,  as  written  by  their  enemies,  attest 
that  they  could  work  out  systems  of  self-development,  creating 
civilizations  which  were  fast  advancing  to  a  more  reasoned 
maturity,  notwithstanding  that  the  foundations  were  often 
stricken  down  by  successive  hordes  of  new  invaders,  till  the 
whole  was  finally  crushed  by  European  zeal  and  cupidity;  for, 
notwithstanding  our  view  of  a  foreign  element  having  worked 
in  the  development  of  the  indigenous  social  institutions,  it  must 
be  recollected  that  a  few  strangers  cannot  sway  a  distinct  peo- 
ple unprepared  to  receive  their  suggestions.  They  must  be 
homogeneous,  —  the  result  of  time  and  of  national  engraftings, 
—  before  they  can  take  root.  Now,  the  Mexican  civilization 
was  a  reconstruction  of  one  or  more  preceding  it ;  and  the 
Ulmec  and  Toltec,  so  much  older,  were,  most  likely,  not  the 
first  that  pervaded  the  warmer  regions  of  Western  America ; 
therefore,  the  American  mind,  resulting,  as  we  claim  it  to  be, 
from  two  typical  stocks  of  Man,  is  only  inferior  in  capacity,  so 
far  as  the  existing  races  are  more  or  less  removed  from  the 
means  of  attainment  of  social  improvement;  and  the  cold 
philosophy  of  modern  science,  which  inflicts  the  accusation,  is 
not  totally  destitute  of  cognate  participation,  in  producing  the 
conditions  of  existence  it  stigmatizes.  Luckily,  a  host  of 
writers,  and  among  them,  lately,  Prescott,  have  fairly  summed 
up  what  the  intellectual  powers  of  the  aboriginal  races  had 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  275 

already  attained,  without  the  intervention  of  European  science. 
Writers,  in  general,  more  dazzled  with  Mexican  splendor, 
because  that  empire  was  more  within  reach  of  European  curi- 
osity, have  not  regarded  Peru  with  sufficient  discrimination; 
perhaps  because  its  splendor  and  civilization  was  more  suddenly 
and  more  universally  trodden  down  by  the  European  monsters 
who  invaded  it;  and  fewer  documents  of  its  condition  have 
come  down  to  our  time.  But  the  nation  which  had  advanced 
to  the  established  practice  of  bloodless  sacrifice  in  its  worship, 
had  surely  gone  far  beyond  the  Mexicans ;  and  although  we  do 
not  know  how  much  of  scientific  progress  was  the  property  of 
one  or  of  both  the  two  empires,  the  bas-relief  carving,  already 
mentioned,  where  the  sun  is  represented  in  the  centre  of  the 
system,  with  other  planets  in  the  irradiated  circle  around 
it,  shows  that  children  of  the  sun,  though  they  claimed  them- 
selves to  be,  had  a  better  notion  of  the  planetary  disposition 
than  Europeans  possessed  to  a  late  period;  and  that  the 
superior  men  of  the  nation  were  not  blinded  by  the  solar  dog- 
mas of  their  religion,  is  proved  by  the  memorable  reply  of  Inca 
Tupac  Yupan-gui  to  the  monk  Valverde,  wherein  he  rejected 
the  belief  that  the  sun  was  a  living  body,  creating  all  things  ; 
but  thought  him  to  be  "  like  an  arrow  which  performs  the  flight 
intended  by  the  archer  who  shot  it  off."  The  Peruvians  of 
history  appear  to  have  been  a  partial  compound  of  naturally 
flat-headed  Paltas,  and  a  mixture,  probably,  of  the  dominant 
tribes,  with  partly  artificial-flattened  occiputs;  but  the  figures 
of  Incas,  preserved  in  early  Spanish  documents,  offer  neither 
of  these  deformities.  The  first  were,  most  likely,  the  working 
castes,  the  second  the  privileged,  and  the  last  appears  to  have 
been  confined  to  one  sacred  family.  Cyclopean  structures,*'  or 
walls,  fortifications,  and  pyramidal  elevations,  raised  with 
enormous  stones,  belong,  certainly,  to  the  oldest  population. 

*  Such  as  Chulucanas,  on  a  secondary  ridge  of  the  Cordilleras,  as  well 
as  pyramidal  instances  of  tombs. 


276  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

It  is  likely  that  others,  particularly  those  evincing  greater  skill 
were  constructed  during  the  sway  of  the  second,  and  that  the 
Inca  period  only  adapted  them  to  the  system  of  solar  Budhism, 
which  it  can  scarcely  be  denied  formed  the  basis  of  their  insti- 
tutions. Of  the  Cromlechs  of  America  appearing  to  be  identi- 
cal with  the  Celtic,  known  all  over  Europe  and  Asia,  we  wish 
not  to  say  more  than  that  they  are,  to  a  certain  extent,  evi- 
dence of  the  early  wandering  of  some  Gomerian  tribes  to  the 
New  World ;  and  of  the  Northmen  it  is  now  proved  that  they 
reached  the  east  coast  by  a  western  course  from  Iceland,  and 
wandered  much  further  to  the  south  than  was  suspected  in 
earlier  times.  Whether  any  of  these  survived  and  amalga- 
mated with  the  local  races,  is  a  question  not  likely  ever  to  be 
settled. 

The  decay,  amounting  to  prospective  extinction,  observed  to 
be  the  lot  of  the  American  races,  is,  moreover,  a  further  proof 
that  they  are  not  a  typical  people,  but  that  they  are  stems 
occupying  debatable  ground,  which  we  have  before  shown  are 
alone  liable  to  annihilation,  or  to  entire  absorption.  Yet,  in 
some  parts  of  the  tropical  latitudes,  in  Yucatan  for  instance,  so 
great  an  amalgamation  of  the  white  with  indigenous  tribes  and 
with  Negro  imported  slaves,  has  taken  place,  that  this  mixed 
population,  becoming  sensible  of  numerical  superiority,  as  well 
as  of  the  more  intense  energy  they  possess  in  those  climates, 
are  now  asserting  their  power ;  and  ultimately  this  hybrid  race 
may  prove  a  more  serious  opponent  to  the  white  man's  insa- 
tiable cupidity  than  the  descendants  of  European  conquerors 
have  yet  had  to  encounter. 

We  have  not  space  to  enter  into  the  geographical  details  of 
the  distribution  of  the  indigenous  tribes,  further  than  has  been 
already  done,  nor  to  advert  more  particularly  to  their  dialects ; 
for  hordes,  without  letters  or  great  national  expansion,  and 
which  are  constantly  subdividing,  exterminating  by  mutual 
slaughter,  or  perishing  from  constitutional  liability  to  disease, 
are  therefore  by  no  means  able  to  form  durable  communities 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  277 

and  persisting  dialects.  This  last  observation  is  already  per- 
ceptible in  the  catechisms  and  prayers  printed  in  the  Huron 
and  other  languages,  by  French  missionaries,  not  quite  a  cen- 
tury ago,  and  now  only  understood  in  consequence  of  daily 
repetition  and  careful  explanation.  At  least,  such  was  the 
information  we  received  on  the  spot.  One  people  we  must, 
however,  except  from  the  rest,  namely,  the  Carib,  or  that  por- 
tion of  the  Carib  tribes  which  still  occupies  parts  of  the  mari- 
time border  of  north-eastern  South  America,  because,  as  we 
have  before  observed,  many  opinions,  institutions,  and  even 
words  in  their  language,  bespeak  an  intercourse  that  once 
appears  to  have  existed  between  the  ancestors  of  the  present 
families  and  a  Semitic  nation,  perhaps  Phoenician  or  Hebrew. 
That  they  were  once  not  a  sedentary  nation  is  evinced,  since 
they  still  refrain  from  travelling  in  the  interior,  unless  previ- 
ously prepared  for  it  by  peculiar  ceremonies,  excepting  one 
tribe,  which  is  remarkable  for  enterprise,  and,  in  a  small  com- 
pany, will  fearlessly  penetrate  among  hostile  nations,  much  in 
the  character  of  fighting  pedlers.  The  Caribs  were,  like  their 
prototypes  of  the  Old  World,  a  nautical  people,  partly  cannibals 
and  conquerors,  over  all  the  islands  of  the  West  Indian  seas ; 
having  commenced,  some  generations  before  the  arrival  of 
Columbus,  their  career  of  invasion  by  those  nearest  the  coast, 
and  gradually  extending  their  enterprise  to  the  north  and  west, 
till  they  had  subdued  all  to  the  east  of  Hayti,  where,  at  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  discovery,  they  had,  as  yet,  only  secured 
dominion  for  themselves  in  the  vicinity  of  Samana  Eay.  It  is 
erroneously  asserted  that  no  indigenous  people  of  America  had 
contrived  sea-going  vessels  of  any  size ;  for  if  the  information 
we  received  while  in  the  country  be  trustworthy,  within  a 
sandy  portion  of  the  border  of  the  river  Yuna,  in  this  very  bay 
of  Samana,  a  sunken  canoe  was  found  buried,  which  was 
nearly  100  feet  in  length,  proportionally  broad ;  and  what  was 
considered  to  be  sufficient  evidence  of  the  period  when  it  had 
perished,  was  the  discovery  of  a  stone  vessel,  a  stone  casse-tete, 
24 


278  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

and  an  axe  of  flint,  all  within  its  hollow.  Canoes  of  great 
capacity  were  necessary  to  nautical  invaders  of  populous 
islands,  and  the  materials  for  constructing  them  abounded  on 
the  north  coast  of  South  America ;  and,  indeed,  in  the  northern 
portion,  there  still  remain  rude  sculptures  of  very  long  vessels 
of  this  class,  manned  with  numerous  rowers,  particularly  on 
tide  rocks,  in  Massachusetts  and  elsewhere. 

At  foot  note,  page  270,  we  should  have  noticed,  in  confirma- 
tion of  the  northern  and  marine  migration  of  some  tribes,  that 
the  Chichimecs  relate,  that  after  they  emerged  out  of  seven 
"caves"  (islands),  they  travelled  to  Amassiemecan,  or  the 
northernmost  portion  of  America.  Perhaps  they  were  Aleu- 
tians, and  the  term  caves,  if  not  denoting  islands,  may  refer  to 
canoes,  which,  in  many  languages,  bear  names  allusive,  like 
caves,  to  hollowness,  Altei.  The  legend  is  exceedingly  like 
that  in  Strabo,  which  relates  to  the  original  seven  Cyclopeans, 
who  first  came  from  Lycia  by  sea.  They  evidently  designate 
ships'  crews,  since  they  began  soon  after  to  build  works  of 
huge  stones,  such  as  those  near  their  caves  at  Nauplia,  &c. 
Votan,  the  third  personage  in  the  Mexican  Calendar,  according 
to  Francisco  Nunes,  was  the  leader  of  seven  families,  who 
came  from  an  island  to  America,  and  then  brought  seven  more 
to  the  same  country.  But  the  bishop  of  Chiapa  is  questionable 
authority. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  279 


THE  HYPERBOREAN,  BEARDLESS,  OR  MOKGOLIC  TYPE. 

From  what  has  been  stated  in  the  foregoing  pages,  on  the 
two  preceding  extensive  subtypical  stems  of  the  great  family 
of  Man,  our  chief  aim  has  been  to  produce  some  of  the  reasons 
which,  at  least,  seem  to  substantiate  the  conclusion,  that  both 
are  results  of  amalgamations  of  two,  or  of  all  the  three  normal 
stocks,  separated  from  their  original  centres  of  existence,  at  dif- 
ferent epochs,  part  whereof  may  be  of  so  remote  a  date  that 
they  precede  a  portion  of  those  great  territorial  dislocations 
already  pointed  out,  which  affected  both  the  Northern  Pacific 
as  well  as  the  equatorial  and  southern  seas.  Whether  the 
period  in  question  synchronized  with  the  avulsion  of  the  plane 
of  earth  which  originally  abutted  on  the  western  base  of  the 
Cordilleras,  is  not  now  a  question  to  be  discussed  in  the  bear- 
ing it  might  have  on  human  existence,  since  there  are  sufficient 
evidences  to  show  that  the  present  tenants  of  the  island  groups 
can  mostly  be  traced  to  more  recent  periods ;  and  the  traditions 
of  the  northern  hemisphere,  in  both  continents,  tend  to  prove 
the  arctic  nations,  of  the  present  time,  to  be  of  comparatively 
late  expansion  over  their  now  dreary  abodes.  The  question, 
however,  is  not  without  some  curious  circumstances  affecting 
the  beardless  type,  which  we  pointed  out  as  first  traceable  in 
the  north-eastern  flanks  of  the  great  central  table-land  of  Asia. 
But  more  attentive  search  seems  to  establish  the  fact,  that,  even 
there,  during  many  ages,  it  cannot  have  been  the  dominant 
stock;  for  as  on  most  other  occasions  we  find  the  older  races  of 
Man,  that  possessed  a  given  country,  and  were  obliged  to  yield 
to  the  power  of  later  invaders,  hold  to  the  last  in  the  fastnesses 
of  mountain  ranges,  so  we  observe  here,  from  the  Chinese 
annals,  whole  nations  of  Caucasians,  Kinto-Moey,  Yuchi,  &c, 
possessed  of  vast  portions  of  Thibet  and  Eastern  Tahtary,  and 


280  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

maintaining  their  ground  to  the  times  immediately  preceding 
and  succeeding  the  Christian  era,  when  they  were  first  driven 
westward,  whilst  others  are  now  found  subdued  and  incorpo- 
rated with  the  Celestial  Empire,  though  still  retaining  their 
distinctive  characters  of  ample  beard,  horizontal  eyes,  and  lofty 
stature.  They  are  spread  in  population  about  the  river  Amour 
and  the  hill  countries,  while  others,  such  as  the  Miao-tze  (cat- 
people)  and  the  Mou-lad  (wood-rats),  occupy,  in  the  south,  the 
wildest  mountains  in  Se-tchuen,  Koei-tcheou,  Houkang,  and 
Quangsi,  to  the  frontiers  of  Quang-tong.  None  of  these 
nations  and  tribes  can  have  penetrated  eastward,  from  Thibet, 
after  the  Mongolian  races  were  fully  established  in  the  plains. 
They  must,  therefore,  be  of  anterior  date;  and,  as  we  see 
above,  in  the  case  of  the  Yuchi,  the  residue  of  the  people 
driven  from  the  more  fertile  plains,  by  the  force  of  invaders. 
All  the  way  to  the  Malayan  peninsula,  every  known  event 
tends  to  prove  here,  as  in  America,  that  a  succession  of  invasions 
followed  upon  each  other,  from  the  north,  and  formed  vari- 
ously amalgamated  nations,  still  marked  by  strong  distinctions 
in  Indo-China,  Australasia,  and  the  South  Sea  Islands.* 

The  facts  here  stated,  when  accepted  to  the  extent  they  of 
necessity  imply,  establish  that  the  Mongolian  type  was  not 
primacvally  predominant  in  Thibet,  and,  at  most,  hung  on  the 
north-eastern  flanks  of  the  plateau  of  Tahtary,  in  the  same 
manner  as  the  woolly-haired  appears  to  have  done  on  the 
southern.  Yet  there  was  assuredly  a  huge  development  of 
this  stock,  at  the  most  early  human  period,  which,  as  it  could 
not  be  concentrated  immediately  on  the  high  land,  was  clearly 
produced  in  the  north-east,  most  probably  from  the  basin  of  the 

*  In  proof  of  the  departure  of  the  Mongolic  nations  from  the  high  north, 
may  be  shown,  that  they  always  look  to  the  south  as  the  object  of  desire, 
naming  the  wes':  by  the  same  denomination  as  the  right  hand,  and  the 
east  a«  the  left ;  therefore  totally  distinct  from  Caucasians,  who  univer- 
sally, from  a  religious  motive,  look  to  the  east,  and  call  the  west  the 
back. 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  281 

upper  Lena  to  the  sea  of  Okotsk,  and  bounded  on  the  south  by 
the  mountains  of  the  Jablonoi  and  Tugurek  chains,  that  is, 
between  55  and  65  degrees  of  north  latitude  ;  for  it  was  through 
the  passes,  at  the  head  waters  of  the  river  Vitim,  that  it  appears 
the  Mongols  first  pushed  their  conquests  forward  among  the 
Yuchi,  then  in  possession  of  the  southern  borders  of  Lake 
Baikal,  and  the  Mandshures  subjugated  the  Shagallian  terri- 
tory, washed  by  the  great  Shika  or  river  Amour,  where  the 
ruins  of  most  ancient  cities,  captured  and  abandoned  by 
the  beardless  stock,  are  still  to  be  seen.  Desolate  cities,  with 
standing  gateways,  in  a  great  degree  perfect,  and  monstrous 
statues,  akin  to,  but  far  more  elaborate  than  the  more  early 
Scandinavian  and  Gothic  works  of  art  in  Europe,  indicate  no 
very  remote  period  when  they  were  forsaken,  and  testify  that 
the  religion  once  predominant  had  more  affinity  with  the 
northern  Caucasian  doctrines  of  the  west,  than  with  the 
Budhism,  Shamanism,  or  any  other  superstitions  known 
among  the  beardless  nations/* 

Having  before  shown  the  opinion,  drawn  from  high  authori- 
ties, and  corroborated  by  Chinese  annals,  that  while  the  Polar 
Sea  covered,  to  within  recent  ages,  several  degrees  of  latitude 
in  northern  Asia,  the  climate  must  have  been  considerably 
milder  than  at  present,  and  consequently  have  facilitated 
migration  to  the  eastward,  even  if  Behring's  Straits  had  then 
already  its  present  dimensions,  and  the  Aleutian  islands  did  not 
form  a  more  continuous  chain  than  they  now  exhibit.  These 
circumstances  may  account  both  for  the  Caucaso-Mongolic 
propulsion  to  America,  and  for  the  comparatively  late  period 

*  Par-liotan,  city  of  the  Tiger,  a  mass  of  extensive  ruins,  on  the  Kirton- 
Gura  of  the  Kalkas,  and  to  the  north  of  Mongolia.  The  Kirton-Gura 
communicates  with  the  Amour  by  the  Kulon-nor  lake.  The  ruins  are  in 
latitude  43,  and  in  longitude  a  little  west  of  Pekin.  Though  not  built  by 
the  Mongolic  nations,  this  and  other  cities  were  no  doubt  occupied  by 
them  till  after  their  conquest  of  China,  when  to  permit  another  hardy 
population  to  grow  up  concentrated  in  the  north  was  no  doubt  found  tc 
be  unadvisable. 

24* 


282  NATURAL   EI8I0BY    OF 

of  development  which  that  stock  displays  towards  the  south 
and  west. 

The  earliest  Chinese  annals  may  not  in  reality  belong  to  the 
beardless  races,  hut  he  an  appropriation  made  by  them  alter 
their  first  conquests  were  effected  ;  for  the  Chinese  b<  roes  and 
social  institutions,  including  Foh  himself,  have,  in  their  human 
relations,  characters  that  do  not  helong  so  much  to  them  as  to 
their  predecessors,  the  Kinto  Moey,  or  Yuchi.  They  have 
also  usages,  like  the  feast  of  lanterns,  which  have  no  proper 
meaning  in  their  legends,  though,  like  the  Hoolee  of  India  in 
substance,- they  may  be  regarded  as  the  same,  since  they  are 
both  dedicated  to  the  opening  spring.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
at  Canton  the  votaries  of  Budha  understand  the  hymns  sung  by 
them  in  his  praise;  for  they  are  obtained  from  Ceylon,  though 
the  religious  system  itself  is  derived  originally  from  Thibet,  or 
perhaps,  with  still  more  certainty,  from  the  more  western 
portion  of  High  Asia,  before  the  Hyperborean  diffusion  reached 
that  quarter. 

The  beardless  stock,  in  its  primaeval  abode,  may  not  have 
attained  the  full  stature  of  Caucasians.  Migration  to  more 
southerly  regions,  still  more,  innervation  derived  from  inter- 
union  with  bearded  races,  probably  gave  it  the  development 
now  attained  ;  for  no  giant  tribes  are  recorded  among  the 
unadulterated  nations  of  Mongolic  origin;  and  many  instances 
occur,  where,  like  Anna  Comnena,  speaking  of  the  first 
appearance  of  the  Turks,  they  are  described  to  be  of  small 
stature.  Here,  like  in  other  cases,  it  should  be  borne  in 
mind  that  the  ruling  tribes  and  royal  clans,  the  greatest 
sharers  in  the  division  of  spoil,  possessed  the  principal  propor- 
tion of  Caucasian  captive  females,  and  thence  acquired  an 
external  superiority  of  aspect,  as  well  as  much  greater  cerebral 
expansion.  This  fact  is  forcibly  shown  in  the  Osmanli  and 
Toorkee  dynasties  of  Europe  and  Persia.  Mythology  and 
romance  notice  dwarfs  and  Pypilikas,  or  gold-finding  ants  (pos- 
sibly a  mole  of  describing  the  gold  miners  of  the  Altaic  range), 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  283 

Tschutski,  Jakoutski,  or  others,  not  perhaps  pure  Hyperbo- 
reans, such  as  the  iron-working  Niron  tribes  of  Mongolia 
appropriately  typified  by  griffins  and  dragons,  since  these  very 
monsters  have  been  their  national  ensigns  from  the  remotest 
ages;  and  at  several  times  conquerors  have  issued  from  among 
them,  desolating  the  earth,  and  forming  the  greatest  as  well 
as  the  most  transient  empires  in  human  history.* 

Whether  the  Phryni  and  Seres  of  antiquity,  mentioned  by 
Pliny,  Strabo,  and  Ptolemy,  were  really  of  the  beardless  stock 
in  possession  of  Kashgar  and  Yarkund,  and  associated  with 
the  Tokhari  as  early  as  the  Macedonian  conquest,  may  well 
be  contested,  since  the  conjecture  of  Dr.  Vincent,  that  for 
Scythioe  should  be  read  Sindh,  is  proved  to  be  incorrect.  The 
southern  glens  of  that  region,  being  the  spontaneous  land  of  the 
mulberry  tree,  had  then,  no  doubt,  their  own  different  species 
of  indigenous  silk-worms,  which  they  still  possess,  and  from 
their  produce  the  name  Serica  was  derived,  as  well  as  Seres, 
without  reference  to  the  origin  of  the  nation  that  then  had 
rule.  There  can  be  little  doubt  but  that  they  were  Caucasian 
Scythians  of  remote  times,  since  the  name  of  the  Tokhari  has 
been  read  phonetically  among  the  vanquished  tribes  repre- 
sented on  Egyptian  temples,  where  the  conquests  of  a  Thoth- 
mes  or  Remses  are  depicted,  and  the  population  of  those  high 
lands  is  not  even  now  Mongolic.  What  the  earlier  Greeks 
related  of  the  Seres,  who  were  reported  to  be  satyrs,  eighteen 
cubits  in  height,  sufficiently  proves  they  knew  the  name  only 
in  connection  with  some  colossal  statues  of  Indian  or  of  Bac- 
trian  divinities. 

The  Chinese,  in  their  earliest  records,  seem  to  denominate 
the  whole  beardless  stock  Le  Mia,  or  black-haired  people, 
according  to  the  old  classical  comment  on  the  Yaou  Tan,  in 
order  to  distinguish  them  from  the  foreign  races,  which  are 
designated  as  invariably  red  or  fair-haired ;  that  is,  Yuchi. 

*  Such  as  Ogus  Khan,  about  657  B.  C,  to  Genghiz  Khan,  about  1154 
A.  D. 


284  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

The  Mongolic  type  is,  in  truth,  unknown  to  ancient  history 
in  the  shape  of  organized  nations ;  hut  isolated  tribes  have  pen- 
etrated westward  at  early  periods,  more  or  less  mixed  up  with 
that  subtypical  stock  which  formed  the  Finnic  or  Ouralian 
nations,  whose  presence  in  Europe  we  shall  shortly  mention. 
Those  among  them  which  are  least  mixed  by  Caucasian  inter- 
union,  certaiidy  still  retain  the  characteristics  evidently  belong- 
ing to  the  most  pure  and  ancient  Hyperborean  beardless  tribes  ; 
still  the  following  description  is  applicable  to  both,  with  only 
so  much  difference  as  the  conditions  of  their  respective  situa- 
tions admit  to  be  results  of  circumstances  only. 

The  Beardless  Hyperborean,*  or  Mongolic  type,  differs 
from  the  white  Caucasian  and  Melanic  stocks,  by  constant 
characters,  which  mark  it  externally,  even  where  the  subordinate 
stems  are  greatly  adulterated  by  intermixture,  or  modified  by 
climate  and  other  causes.  It  is  a  form  of  Man  distinguished 
from  the  other  two  types  by  a  facial  angle,  sloping  backwards 
from  70  to  80  degrees  —  the  contents  of  the  cerebral  chamber 
varying,  according  to  Dr.  Morton's  measurement,  from  69  to 
93  cubic  inches ;  the  head  is  rather  small,  the  face  flat,  the 
cheek-bones  projecting  laterally,  the  eyes  small,  not  much 
opened,  appearing  to  be  placed  obliquely,  with  the  external 
angle  upwards,  chiefly  because  the  lachrymary  gland  is  con- 
cealed by  the  upper  lid,  which  turns  directly  down  over  it. 
This  is  a  provision  of  nature  common  to  the  ruminants  of  high 
latitudes,  and  the  most  elevated  ridges,  who  are  all  destitute 
of  tear  pits,  probably  because  the  lachrymary  structure  cannot 
be  exposed  in  a  rigorous  climate  without  positive  detriment  to 
the  eyes.  The  Mongolian  eye  has  always  a  dark  iris,  the 
eyebrows  are  narrow,  the  hair  is  coarse,  lank,  and  blacky  the 
beard   scanty,  not   curly,  partially  or  wholly  wanting  at  the 

*  The  denomination  of  hyperborean  is  more  strictly  applicable  to  the 
Arctic  stock,  though  by  the  ancients  the  same  designation  is  commonly 
believed  to  refer  to  Gothic,  or  at  most  to  Finnic  tribes,  who  were  at  that 
time  merely  borcc:-,  or  northern  inhabitants. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  285 

ears,  and  it  appears  to  be  of  the  same  pile  as  the  hair  of  the 
head.  The  nose  is  small,  somewhat  pointed,  and  the  mouth 
well-formed.  In  the  Nogai  race  the  nose  is,  however,  round, 
flattened,  and  dilated,  the  cheek-bones  still  more  prominent, 
the  lips  are  tumid,  and  the  eyes  almost  reduced  to  linear  open- 
ings;  while  the  black  Kalmucks  have  the  obliquity  of  the  lids 
still  greater,  so  that  their  external  angles  seem  to  be  almost 
forty-five  degrees  above  horizontal.  All  the  true  beardless 
nations  are  olivaceous  in  color,  the  skin  varying  from  a 
kind  of  sallow  lemon-peel,  through  various  shades  of  greater 
depth;  but  it  is  never  entirely  fair,  nor  intensely  swarthy; 
although,  in  the  adulterated  races  that  occupy  the  Himalaya 
range,  slight  appearances  of  blush  may  be  discerned  among 
young  people ;  and  the  black  Kalmucks,  from  some  other  unex- 
plained cause,  are  of  an  ashy  darkness,  not  far  remote  from  the 
true  Papua  color.  The  typical  nations  are  all  square  of  body, 
in  stature  rather  low,  the  trunk  long,  the  extremities  seldom  or 
never  lengthened,  and  the  wrists  and  ankles  are  weak.* 

These  characteristics  of  the  Hyperborean  type  retain  such 
uniformity,  that  the  American  races  are  in  most  particulars,  as 
we  have  already  shown,  but  little  aberrant,  and  the  Malay, 
Indo-Chinese,  &c,  continue  to  bear  them,  in  the  exact  propor- 
tion of  their  commixture  with  other  aberrants,  and  of  the  influ- 
ences generated  by  local  circumstances.  In  the  same  ratio  we 
also  find  the  physical  structure  to  harmonize  with  the  intellec- 
tual qualities.  The  Hyperborean  evinces  a  feebler  innervation 
than  the  other  typical  forms  of  Man ;  he  is  less  under  amatory 
influences,  less  prolific,  less  enduring  in  toil;  hence  more  dis- 

*  Where  the  gland  is  visible,  the  eye  horizontal,  and  the  beard  spreads 
up  to  the  sides  of  the  ears,  there  is  certainly  a  mixed  descent.  It  is  most 
common,  perhaps  solely  observed,  among  natives  of  the  northern  prov- 
inces beyond  the  wall.  No  doubt  the  superior  energy  and  capacity  they 
evince  is  the  cause  why  they  are  everywhere  in  office,  and  that  so  many 
portraits,  thus  characterized,  occur  in  the  Chinese  Museum  now  exhibit- 
ing in  London. 


286  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

posed  to  severity  where  he  has  power ;  to  a  victim  or  a  captive 
inflicting  needless  torture,  less  from  natural  ferocity,  than  from 
the  want  of  individual  self-reliance,  which  ia  thus  prone  to 
express  fear  by  precaution.  More  readily  reduced  to  order 
when  subdued,  he  evades  rather  than  resists  oppression  by 
force;  he  is  more  obstinate  than  brave,  but  savage  to  self- 
destruction  when  roused  by  despair  ;  avoiding  personal 
tion,  such  as  to  walk  or  to  dig  unremittingly  in  the  fields,  be 
rides  in  every  region  when  the  Horse  is  accessible;  more  imita- 
tive than  inventive,  he  exerts  his  ingenuity  to  apply  mechani- 
cal aids  in  necessary  labors.  Sitting  at  work,  he  is  dexterous, 
but  little  tasteful ;  at  handicraft  professions,  preferring  pati<nt 
elaboration  to  exertion;  lazy,  yet  gluttonous,  omnivorous  with 
scarcely  any  distinction;  filthy,  amounting  to  a  dread  of 
water;  crafty,  dishonest,  plausible;  in  war  he  trusts  to  his 
horse,  or  to  numbers;  he  finds  sudden  irruption,  cruelty,  plun- 
der, and  desolation,  more  congenial  than  open  battle  and 
victory. 

With  the  mind  more  vacant  than  contemplative,  the  relig- 
ious sentiment,  that  source  of  all  exalted  and  practical  feeling, 
has  never  risen  above  an  indistinct  idea  of  a  Supreme  Being, 
a  heaven,  or  a  solar  worship;  it  is  better  satisfied  with  the  true 
northern  impostures  of  Shamanism,  and  with  the  borrowed 
demon  worship  engrafted  on  Budhistic  doctrines;  for  what  is 
of  true  moral  tendency,  either  in  the  ethics  of  Foh  or  Budh,  is 
of  foreign  origin,  and  repugnant  to  the  intellectual  puerilities 
which  are  his  substitutes  for  reason,  philosophy,  and  science. 
;\  deified,  ancestral,  and  paternal  obedience  stands  in  lieu 
cf  practical  religion  —  his  only  support  of  that  innate  moral 
feeling  belonging  to  all  human  beings.  It  is  the  key-stone  of 
absolute  power  in  the  state;  hence  coercion  is  the  civilization 
of  the  masses,  ceremonious  punctiliousness  that  of  their  supe- 
riors, ignorant  self-laudation  the  acquirement  of  literati,  and 
insolence  the  portion  of  all.  The  discoveries  they  possess  in 
physics  are  the  results  of  chance ;  all  the  maxims  of  state  are 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  287 

immutable,  and  repressive  of  progress.  Though  early  in  pos- 
session of  the  mariner's  compass,  and  (particularly  the  Japan- 
ese) long  compelled  to  a  familiarity  with  the  sea,  none  of  the 
beardless  tribes  ever  became  true  navigators,  or  reasoning  ship- 
builders. 

The  typical  nations  have  monosyllabic  languages,  depending 
greatly  upon  phonetic  expression,  and  their  letters  are  pictorial 
symbols,  immensely  diversified  ;  hence  their  so-called  poetical 
compositions  cannot  be  highly  figurative,  or  reach  beyond 
mediocrity,  and  their  learning  is  greatly  restricted  by  the 
cumbrousness  of  its  elements.  Finally,  what  is  known  of 
social  advancement,  of  inductive  reasoning,  or  of  mathematical 
acquirement,  is  derived  from  foreign  sources,  or  is  the  work  of 
interumons  with  the  various  Caucasian  races,  Yuehi,  Kin-to- 
Moey,  Hindo-Chinese,  and  others,  scattered  through  every  part 
of  the  organized  nations  of  the  beardless  stock. 

It  appears  that  the  present  Mongolic  tribes  were  long 
ignorant  of  the  real  use  of  the  Horse;  while,  in  the  arctic 
regions,  the  white  woolly  race  of  the  Jakoutsk  was  not  deemed 
serviceable,  except  for  food. 

From  the  Subaltaic  Yuchi,  who  were  the  first  rulers,  they 
no  doubt  learnt  the  art,  and  became  conquerors,  by  the  sole 
acquisition  which  changes  the  relations  of  every  people  on 
earth  accessible  to  the  animal.* 

This  was  certainly  subsequent  to  the  oldest  Hyperborean 
invasion  of  China  ;  for,  even  to  this  day,  that  immense  region 
produces  very  inferior  animals,  excepting  those  bred  by  the 
Caucasian  Miao-tze  mountaineers. 

Yet,  under  favorable  circumstances,  and  no  doubt  with 
some  aid  from  the  Caucasian  elements  spread  through  the 
masses,  they  have  achieved  an  homogeneous  civilization,  as 
early,  perhaps  earlier,  than  any  people  of  the  south  and  west; 

*  The  Mongolic  nations  eat  horse-flesh.  Wild  horse-meat,  butchered 
for  the  market,  is  still  sold  daily  in  many  parts  of  China. 


288  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

and  though  the  reflective  powers  confer  but  feeble  modes  of 
reasoning,  and  often  false  conclusions,  a  sort  of  erratic  common 
sense  has  caused  them  to  alight  upon  moral  truths  and  humane 
sentiments,  which  the  most  polished  nations  of  Europe  acknowl- 
edge, but  scarcely  put  in  practice.  With  the  conditions  of 
existence  here  shown,  it  is  evident  that  a  people,  such  as  the 
Chinese  in  particular,  according  to  their  own  annals,  while  re- 
siding in  the  southern  flanks  of  the  Khinghan  mountains,  would 
multiply  in  time,  till  want  of  subsistence  compelled  the  masses 
to  industry,  and  that,  unwarlike  and  sedentary  in  the  plains, 
they  would  fall  beneath  the  energy  of  kindred  tribes,  coming 
upon  their  horses  from  the  bleak  north,  to  commit  devastation, 
grasp  the  empire,  enslave  by  mandates,  and  by  an  enormous 
police,  till  vanquished  by  the  enervating  process  of  the  system, 
these  too  would  fall  in  turn  beneath  a  new  horde  of  invaders. 
There  were  unquestionably  more  than  the  two  well-known 
conquests  of  China,  since  the  empire  included  the  more 
ancient  separate  sovereignties ;  and  though  the  fate  of  rude 
conquerors  over  more  civilized  nations  of  homogeneous  origin, 
is  ever  to  become,  in  civil  administration,  the  pupils  of  the 
vanquished,  the  new  dominion  debases  both. 

These  events  are  clearly  shown  in  early  ages,  where  the 
conquering  hordes  on  the  plateau  of  Thibet  come  up,  or  are 
first  observed  stationed  on  the  south-east,  as  if  they  emanated 
from  China ;  and  they  speak  of  great  empires,  formed  in 
remote  ages,  among  which  that  of  Orgus  or  Oloug  Khan  the 
Great,  who  flourished,  it  is  said,  about  657  B.  C,  should  be 
mentioned,  if  indeed  his  exploits  belong  to  a  Alongolic  or 
beardless  people ;  for  he  resided  in  winter  near  the  Sir-Deriah, 
or  Jaxartes,  centuries  before  the  Geta  and  Sakia  Caucasians 
came  westward  by  this  and  the  Oxus  rivers. 

Japan,  divided  into  islands,  in  part  possessed  by  tribes  not 
typical,  but  of  anomalous  origin,  with  a  colder  stormy  climate 
and  soil,  often  disturbed  by  the  most  terrible  earthquakes, 
presents  a  more  energetic  population,  which,  being  free  from 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  289 

foreign  wars,  is  ever  ready  to  break  out  in  sanguinary  rebellion, 
not  a  little  fostered  by  the  jealous  timidity  of  the  ruling 
powers. 

On  the  south  of  the  Chinese  empire,  vast  woody  mountain 
ranges  and  abundant  rivers  constitute  wildernesses  of  vegeta- 
tion, thinly  inhabited  by  nations  forming  several  kingdoms, 
with  an  interior  but  little  known.  The  Mongolic  stock  is  most 
numerous  on  the  north-east,  the  Caucasian  type  on  the  west, 
and  in  the  interior  and  the  Malay  peninsula  the  Papua  popula- 
tion still  lingers.  Power  is  in  the  hands  of  the  first;  the 
denomination  of  geographical  localities  the  patrimony  of  the 
second;  and  the  third  has  undoubtedly  intermixed  and  adulter- 
ated the  blood  of  both. 

By  these  facts  we  detect  the  successive  occupiers;  —  the 
Hindoo'  races  invading  the  aborigines  long  before  they  were  in 
.  turn  made  subjects  of  the  beardless  conquerors.  This  process, 
we  have  already  shown,  has  extended  onwards  through  the 
Australian  and  Polynesian  islands,  with  an  additional  element 
of  an  Arabian,  and,  later  still,  of  an  European  amalgamation. 

On  the  north  of  China,  whence  the  civilized  and  sedentary 
southern  people  have  originally  emanated,  we  find  the  nomad 
nations  still  tending  their  herds ;  consequently,  these  are  the 
real  typical  Hyperboreans,  and,  accordingly,  they  possess  the 
distinctive  characters  belonging  to  their  origin,  in  the  maxi- 
mum of  development;  —  the  Manchures,  or  Tungusian  stem, 
Mongols,  Bashkirs,  Kalmucks,  Kirguise,  Nogai,  Usbeks ;  Tur- 
comans being  more  mixed;  and  all,  in  general,  misnamed 
Tahtars,  for  that  term  designates,  originally,  a  mere  tribe  of 
vanquished  inhabitants,  who  were  made  tributaries  by  the 
earlier  Mongolian  invaders,  on  the  south  of  Lake  Baikal;  and 
in  process  of  time  it  was  extended  to  other  nations  of  depend- 
ent states  further  to  the  west.  The  Mongols  and  Manchures, 
in  graduated  proportions,  are,  at  present,  the  stall-fed  masters 
of  China,  and  nearly  form  the  whole  real  military  force  of  the 
empire,  consisting  entirely  of  cavalry,  probably  less  than 
25 


290  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

250,000  strong,  covering  the  inert  mass  of  300,000,000  subjects, 
with  the  aid  of  800,000  policemen,  denominated  infantry,  and 
an  enormous  crowd  of  civilians  and  satellites,  all  intended  for 
internal  rule,  and  incapable  of  external  vigor. 

They  are,  to  all  appearance,  the  first  who  came  from  the 
remote  north-east,  after  the  Japanese  and  Chinese.  Of  the 
Turkish  stems,  some  have  acquired  a  Caucasian  form  of  head, 
such  as  the  Osmanlis  and  the  so-called  Russian  Taht 
ing  in  towns ;  but  the  nomadic  tribes,  the  Nogais,  Kirguise, 
Turkoman,  and  Jakoutsk,  retain  the  original  structure  of  tbe 
Mongolian  form,  while  the  Turks  further  betray  their  hybrid 
cbaracter  by  the  number  of  Sanscrit  words  found  in  the  lan- 
guage they  speak,  which,  since  they  were  not  among  the 
ancient  invaders  of  India,  must  have  been  incorporated  on  the 
north  side  of  the  great  central  mountain  systems  of  Asia,  and, 
consequently,  from  a  Caucasian  people,  whose  tongue  was  a 
dialect  of  this  great  language,  proving  that  it  had  a  national 
existence  much  further  to  the  north  than  is  commonly  sur- 
mised. The  name  Turks,  Toorkees,  may  designate  mountain 
men,  for  it  agrees  with  their  earliest  history,  as  given  in  the 
Chinese  annals,  according  to  Klaproth,  Abel  Remusat,  and 
others,  who  assert  that  they  descend  from  the  Hiong-nou,  a 
people  whose  capital  was  Kantcheou,  in  Tangut,  and  that  they 
came  down  the  snowy  passes  of  Tang-nu  and  the  great  Altai, 
upon  the  west,  probably  by  the  upper  Irtish  and  the  affluents 
of  the  Jaxartes.  The  same  annals,  however,  pretend  that 
they  were  seated  on  the  northern  flanks  of  the  mountain 
ranges,  which  may  refer  to  their  remoter  habitation  on  the 
Irtish,  but  not  near  the  Shensi  and  Shansi  provinces,  unless  it 
was  after  the  Yuchi  nations  were  ejected ;  for  these  were  still 
opposed  to  the  Mongols,  in  those  very  regions ;  and  the  abun- 
dance of  local  names  now  remaining  in  Thibet  shows  that  Cau- 
casians occupied  a  great  portion  of  the  high  land  plateau  to  a 
late  period.  It  must  have  taken  ages  to  dislodge  tribes,  vhich 
we  find  in  subsequent  periods  making  a  prodigious  resistance ; 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  291 

and  therefore  the  progress  from  the  high  declivities  of  the  Mon- 
golian steppes,  which  they  appear  to  have  held  at  an  early 
time,  to  their  occupation  of  the  Thian-Shan  mountains,  may 
be  admitted  to  come  within  two  or  three  centuries  before  the 
Christian  era,  because  Kanishka,  a  Caucasian  (Sakia)  prince, 
came  down  and  conquered  Bactria,  only  in  120  B.  C.  It  is, 
therefore,  probable  that  their  most  ancient  name  of  Hoei-yu 
was  changed  to  Hiong-nou,  a  century  or  two  later,  when  the 
Caucasian  intermixture  gave  rise  to  dissension,  and  their 
power  was  broken  by  civil  wars  and  Chinese  dexterity. 
Though  circumstances  and  dates  in  Chinese  records  should 
not  be  held  more  credible  than  our  own  western  documents  of 
remote  antiquity,  they  still  deserve  general  belief  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  events  they  narrate.  Here  their  course  is  perfectly 
natural;  and  from  other  sources  will  be  shown,  in  the  sequel, 
that  this  general  character  is  fully  sustained  in  the  later  ages 
here  mentioned. 

The  percussions  then  given  to  the  nations  of  central  High 
Asia  appear  further  to  be  depicted  in  the  figurative,  or  per- 
haps physically  true  legend,  that  in  the  fifth  century  of  our 
era  the  Oxus  and  Jaxartes  dried  up  for  seven  years,  and  the 
populations  resident  on  their  banks  were  forced  to  emigrate  for 
want  of  water.  The  period  is  coincident  with  that  vast  con- 
vulsion when  the  Hunnic  empire  suddenly  expanded  from  the 
frontiers  of  China  to  the  mouth  of  the  Rhine;  and  though  not 
entirely,  perhaps  not  even  chiefly,  composed  of  Mongolian 
hordes,  as  we  shall  presently  show,  it  certainly  embraced,  beside 
Toorkees,  vast  legions  of  Kalmucks,  Kirguise,  and  Bashkirs, 
who,  in  the  career  of  victory,  under  Attila,  spread,  till,  in  the 
subsequent  dissolution  of  that  power,  they  could  never  again 
reunite  to  preserve  independence;  for  when,  at  a  later  date, 
fresh  waves,  entirely  composed  of  the  Hyperborean  stock,  swept 
them  again,  in  the  career  of  desolation,  to  the  west,  Nogais, 
Usbeks,  and  Kalmucks,  still  more  dislocated,  settled  further  on 
to  the  Crimea,  from  whence,  however,  the  forgot  Kalmucks,  by 


292  NATURAL    BIbTOEl    OS 

a  noble  effort  to  retain  their  nationality,  suddenly  departed,  in 
the  last  century,  and,  retracing  the  Btepa  of  their  ano 
moved  eastward  in  a  vast  column,  fighting  their  way  through 
all  opposition,  till  they  reached  the  Chinese  frontier  in  s 
The  western  direction  of  the  Hyperborean  conquest- 
more  particularly  marked  in  the  reign  of  Genghiz  Khan,  in 
the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries;  of  Timur  Leng,  in  the 
fourteenth  ;  and  Nadir  Shah,  in  the  seventeenth;  during  which 
period,  or,  rather,  from  the  time  of  Boleslas  the  Chaste  (1227), 
to  that  of  Stanislaus  Augustus,  a  Polish  writer  enumerates, 
with  some  exaggeration,  not  less  than  ninety-one  invasions  of 
Poland  coming  from  the  east.  Strange,  however,  as  it  may 
appear,  none  of  the  foregoing  conquerors  were  themselves 
pure  Mongols, but  by  connection  they  all  possessed  a  portion  of 
Caucasian  blood,  through  Finnic,  Yuchi,  or  Turkish  alliances. 
On  the  north  side  of  the  great  wall  of  China,  the  terms 
Kuthais  and  Kara  Kuthais  are  not  clearly  designated ;  they 
may  apply  generally  to  the  Mongolic  residents,  though  it  is 
evident  that  the  last  mentioned  refers  to  a  dark  race,  perhaps 
the  swarthy  Kalmucks.  It  was  from  this  region  that  Genghiz 
Khan  and  his  clan  first  commenced  their  conquests,  which,  in 
Octai's  reign,  were  divided  into  several  dominions.*      It  is, 

*  These  conquerors  all  sprung,  directly  or  indirectly,  from  the  Xiron 
Cayut,  chief  family  of  the  Niron  tribe  of  iron  miners,  smelters,  and  forg- 
ing smiths,  or  Arkenikom,  residing  in  the  sacred  district  of  Kobdo,  north- 
east of  Irmingtan  Peak,  part  of  Altain  Niro,  situated  on  the  edge  of  the 
Shamoo,  or  Gobi  desert,  and  not  far  west  from  Karakorum,  once  the 
capital  of  Genghiz  Khan.  From  this  point  the  waters  flow,  by  the  river 
Selinga,  into  Lake  Baikal,  and  thence,  finally,  by  the  Yenisei,  into  the 
Polar  Sea.  It  was  here  Pisouka  Bahauder,  eighth  in  descent  from  a  child 
of  light  (Xourayon),  laid  the  foundation  of  the  empire  which  Genghiz 
formed.  But  it  must  be  remarked  that  the  ancestral  names  of  the  family 
do  not  indicate  so  much  a  3Iongolic  as  a  Caucasian  Finnic  origin.  Proba- 
bly the  mining  mountaineers  were  still  of  the  Yuchi  stock,  and,  as  usual 
elsewhere,  soon  became  the  master  tribe  over  the  invaders.  In  these 
mountains  are  probably  ae  oldest  mines  in  the  world.  Here  the  Pipili- 
cas  (gold-finding  ants),  <    Hindoo  lore,  may  have  been  Hyperborean  Fins 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  293 

however,  a  remarkable  circumstance,  that,  excepting  in  the 
ruling  families,  the  unceasing  importations  of  Caucasian  female 
slaves,  victims  of  inroads,  which  for  a  succession  of  ages  swept 
the  populations  of  Southern  Asia,  and  the  whole  of  North- 
western Europe,  independent  of  similar  devastations  perpe- 
trated by  Moogolic  nations,  at  still  earlier  periods,  over  the 
Yuchi  and  other  Oriental  Asiatics,  the  Caucasian  stock  should 
have  left  such  scanty  outward  evidence  in  the  masses  of  the 
conquerors.  The  lower  innervation,  and  consequent  deadly 
apathy,  in  the  relations  of  humanity,  alone  can  account  for  it. 
Small  as  the  influence  may  be  in  other  respects,  it  has,  never- 
theless, tended  to  produce,  on  the  north  of  the  great  wall  of 
China,  a  Caucasian  ratiocination,  which  the  Kara-kuthai,  and 
all  Tab  tars  evince,  in  the  Islam  religious  expansion. 

Batu  Khan,  nephew  of  Genghiz,  formed,  about  1223,  the 
celebrated  Golden  horde  in  Kiptchack,  a  state  between  the 
Don,  Volga,  and  Yaik,  where,  with  the  habits  of  various  races 
of  mixed  and  true  Caucasians,  an  immense  caravan  trade  was 
created,  and  extended  to  Samarkand  and  China  on  the  one 
side,  and  on  the  other  came  to  Astrakan,  and  thence,  by  the 
Volga,  to  Cazan  and  the  Baltic,  or  by  the  Don  to  Azoff,  or, 
lastly,  by  the  Kur  and  Rion,  reached  the  post  where  the 
Genoese  had  revived  the  trade  of  ancient  Col  his,  —  a  wise 
and  industrial  system,  which,  while  it  lasted,  conferred  such 
riches  on  the  government  and  people,  that  the  resplendent 
above  noted  was  the  consequence.  But  that  the  evident 
advantages  of  a  peaceful  policy  could  not  wholly  restrain  the 
habits  of  rapine,  is  evident;  for  it  was  at  this  period,  1237, 
1241,  that  Batu,  with  the  Kiptchack  or  Komans,  and  Petah 
Khan,  with  the  Telebog  and  Nogai  swarms,  made  those  great 
inroads  upon  eastern  Europe  which  nearly  depopulated  Russia, 
Poland,  Hungary,  and  adjacent  provinces.     But  the  successes 

(the  Bergmen  and  dwarfs  of  every'legend),  and  their  dragon  guardians 
Caucasian  Fins,  such  as  the  Niron,  who  seem  at  all  times  to  have  recog- 
nized a  dragon  for  their  national  standard. 

25* 


2fJ4  NATURAL   HISTORY    OE 

of  so  many  ages  at  length  appear  to  have  hlunted  the  restless 
characters  of  the  Mongolic  stock,  and  their  habits  became 
stationary.  Pastoral  nations,  though  often  conquerors,  ever 
finish  by  receding  before  the  steady  progress  of  energetic  culti- 
vators. It  is  exemplified,  in  this  case,  by  the  gradual  reaction 
which  sends  the  Caucasian  eastward,  to  recover  the  debatable 
ground.  After  1800  years  of  conflict,  he  has  already  regained 
a  great  portion  of  the  original  seat  of  the  Hyperborean  type. 

Russia  has  subdued  several  nations  who  have  little  or  no 
history;  among  others,  some  of  real  Mongolic  descent,  and  the 
Sogha,  or  Yakutsk,  of  all  men  the  most  hardy,  together  with 
the  lofty  Tschutski,  of  pretended  American  origin,  but  neither 
appearing  to  be  true  Mongols.  An  important  consideration 
affects  the  condition  of  these  arctic  nations  of  Asia,  namely, 
the  fast  decrease  of  the  Reindeer,  both  domestic  and  wild, 
threatening,  at  no  distant  period,  to  reduce  the  already  miserable 
existence  of  the  people  to  starvation,  where  no  migration 
towards  the  south  can  offer  to  improve  their  lot.  The  cause 
of  this  privation  of  almost  the  only  source  of  comfort,  in  those 
dreary  regions,  is  not  yet  fully  explained,  although  several 
tribes  are  already  totally  destitute  of  their  domestic  flocks.  It 
may  be  here,  as  in  North  America,  that  some  law  in  nature  is 
operating,  in  combination  with  the  progress  of  civilized  nations, 
to  change  the  character  of  the  high  north,  and  leave  it  a  desert, 
with  scarcely  a  human  tribe  able  to  subsist  on  it;  indeed,  the 
only  people  must,  ultimately,  be  Samoyed,  Esquimaux,  and 
Lapland  fish-eating  Hyperboreans ;  the  sole  remaining  race  of 
the  beardless  stock  to  which  we  have  space  to  refer. 

This  people,  in  both  continents,  being  ever  greatly  restricted 
in  food,  either  at  no  time  acquired  the  full  stature  of  the  type, 
or  it  still  retains  the  original  appearance,  from  which  the 
nations  in  better  circumstances  have  passed  to  more  ample 
structures.  Though  diminutive,  they  possess  all  the  character- 
istics of  the  Mongolic  form,  so  far  as  they  remain  unmixed ; 
but  in  several    instances  they  have  formed  unions  with  the 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  295 

nearest  ejected  Cau:asian  tribes  in  Eastern  Asia,  and  also,  in 
extending  along  the  arctic  shores  to  the  west.  By  means  of 
their  snow  skates,  th?ir  Reindeer,  and  their  seal-skin  coracles, 
they  found  means  to  traverse  a  great  space  in  less  time  than 
other  migrators  ;  to  cross  over  ice  in  winter;  to  pass  the  Asiatic 
Mediterranean,  which,  at  that  period,  may  not,  as  yet,  have 
been  totally  absorbed  ;  or  to  cross  Behring's  Strait,  which,  how- 
ever, they  do  not  seem  to  have  accomplished  until  ages  had 
elapsed.  In  this  manner,  they  came  early  in  contact  and  com- 
mixture with  Caucasians,  such  as  the  western  Yeta  tribes,  on 
the  shores  of  the  sea,  or  those  they  may  have  found  to  the  west 
of  it,  about  the  Ouralian  mountains,  and  formed  the  Finnic 
subtypical  stem,  on  one  side,  and  the  Tschudic  on  the  other. 
Both  these  suppositions  are  strengthened  by  the  appearance  of 
Finnic  words  in  the  Mexican  language,  and  by  a  similar  occur- 
rence in  the  Basque  dialect  of  the  Pyrenees,  while,  on  the 
plains  of  the  north-west,  other  facts  show  how  near  an  intimacy 
was  established  between  the  ancient  Swedes  and  the  Huns, 
and  between  these  and  the  Magyars,  who  were  kindred  of  the 
Turks. 

While  this  stem  of  the  Mongolic  type  is  thus  shown  to  have 
spread  at  a  remote  period,  and  to  have  been  mixed  in  the  more- 
temperate  climates  of  the  old  continent,  it  is,  in  a  pure  state, 
evidently  less  ancient  than  the  other  populations  of  America ; 
for  it  has  only  been  permitted  to  dwell  in  regions  never  occu- 
pied, or  totally  forsaken  by  them,  —  that  is,  the  Polar  and 
north-west  coast;  and  as  they  were  thus  not  wanted  to  assist 
the  necessities  of  anterior  colonists,  they  have  continued  to  be 
regarded  as  enemies,  being  still  unmercifully  slaughtered  by 
the  stern  Indian,  on  all  occasions  where  he  can  glut  his  passion 
for  bloodshed,  under  the  pretext  tl  at  all  the  Esquimaux  are 
sorcerers. 


296  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 


THE   FINNIC,  OURALIAN,   OR  TSCHUDIC   SUBTYPICAL   STEM, 

Appears  to  have  arisen  from  an  interunion  of  the  two  great 
typical  forms  of  the  north ;  for  its  characteristics  become  prom- 
inent in  proportion  as  the  respective  alliance  with  one  or  the 
other  is  predominant;  thus,  while  the  Skrict-Finn  or  Lap- 
lander, nearly  of  pure  Hyperborean  blood,  verges  in  the  same 
degree  to  the  Mongole  stock,  the  Finlander  is  in  structure 
entirely  a  Caucasian,  though  both  speak  dialects  of  the  same 
language  —  here,  as  elsewhere,  showing  the  ready  predom- 
inance of  the  Caucasian  blood.  All  the  nations  of  this  stem 
have  considerable  flexibility  of  voice,  and  consequently  a  great 
facility  in  acquiring  the  languages  of  their  neighbors  and  of 
strangers;  and  hence  the  Sclavonic  and  Teutonic  dialects  have 
swept  away  tbe  Finnic  in  all  places  where  the  resident  tribes 
were  not  isolated  by  the  nature  of  their  country.  In  Asia  the 
Tschutski  are  of  similar  origin  as  the  more  western  Finns,* 
and  seem  to  represent  the  parent  stock  whence  several  nations 
of  America  take  their  source,  while  they  are  claimed  as  the  most 
ancient  miners  of  the  Altai ;  a  character  which  again  recurs 
among  their  kindred  of  the  west.  Industrious  from  necessity, 
the  scattered,  less  warlike  tribes,  with  that  Mongolic  tact  for 
applying  artificial  aids  in  their  labor,  early  found  walrus  teeth 
sufficient  to  separate  portions  of  meteoric  iron  or  aerolite, 
anciently  more  often  found  in  large  masses  than  at  present ; 
with  the  aid  of  stones  they  learnt  to  hammer  it  into  tools,  and 

*  Tschutski  and  Finn  are  convertible  terms  in  Northern  Russia. 
Tschudi  is  the  Russian  name  of  Finland,  and  the  true  appellation  of  the 
ancient  Scythians.  Joten  were  the  giant  families,  or  Gothic  Finns  of  the 
Germans.  There  is  still  a  tribe  of  Tusci  remaining  among  the  inhabit- 
ants of  Circassia  ;  and  ifRauwolf  be  correct,  the  Druses  of  Libanus  were 
called  Trusci.  This  indicates  a  portion  of  the  Finnic  race  to  have  moved, 
at  a  remote  age,  through  Asia  Minor  towards  Syria,  and  it  may  thus  hnve 
formed  one  of  the  early  constituents  of  the  Imilicon  cf  Palestine.  From  the 
Altaic  gold  mines  to  the  west  they  were  in  all  places  troglodytes  and 
miners. 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  297 

subsequently  into  t  e  celebrated  swords  of  the  ancient  north. 
Horns  of  the  Elk,  and  antlers  of  Reindeer,  made  ready  shovels 
and  pickaxes ;  and  having  already  a  knowledge  of  meteoric 
metal,  they  soon  found,  that  by  digging,  ores  might  be  brought 
up  from  beneath  the  surface.* 

The  zone  of  earth  given  them  as  a  patrimony  being  inter- 
sected at  right  angles  by  many  enormous  rivers  — by  the  Ice- 
land or  German  Sea  —  by  the  White  Sea — by  the  still  re- 
maining portions  of  the  Asiatic  Mediterranean  —  by  Behring's 
Straits  —  and  unceasing  winters  causing  many  sufferings  to 
migrators  on  the  east  and  west,  they,  like  all  other  men,  must 
have  desired  to  wander  to  more  genial  and  passable  regions ; 
and  accordingly,  nations  arising  from  this  branch  of  the  Mon- 
golic  stock,  gradually  more  and  more  mixed  with  Caucasians, 
can  be  traced  southward,  down  to  the  great  central  range  of 
mountains,  where  they  were  met  by  the  opposite  commixture 
of  swarthy  races,  while  the  purest  typical  form  of  the  bearded 
type  clung  to  the  line  of  mountain  prolongation,  or  occupied 
parallels  along  it  to  the  western  extremity  of  Europe.  The 
commixture  of  two  typical  races,  as  before  observed,  is  often 
productive  of  larger  growth  among  individuals,  especially 
if  the  northern  Caucasian  predominate.  On  the  edge  where 
they  encountered  the  Hyperborean,  they  mixed  with  it,  perhaps 
alternately  as  subjects  or  captives,  and  as  masters,  until  both 
were  pressed  by  others,  again  subdued,  or  driven  forward  to 
other  regions.  Several  of  these,  and  other  nations  hereafter 
noticed,  can  be  traced  back  to  the  Colchian  sea-ports,  to  the 
shores  of  the  Meotic  estuary  and  Tauric  Chersonesus,  where 
materials  for  navigating  the  great  rivers  of  Scythia  first  im- 
proved their  experience  to  dare  the  more  open  sea  of  the  Eux- 
ine,  ascend  the  Danube,  or  pass  through  the  Bosphorus  into  the 

*  We  find  them  tenants  of  Southern  Siberia,  up  to  the  vicinity  of  the 
Jenissei  about  Krasnojarsk,  where  Pallas  discovered  an  iron  mine  still 
retaining  stone  hammers  and  brass  tools,  ascribed  by  the  present  Tahtars 
*o  the  Tschutski. 


298  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

iEgean,  and  ultimately  to  become  intrepid  seamen.  Though 
they  possessed  some  industrial  knowledge,  destitution,  famine, 
or  other  causes,  made  them  fierce  savages,  often  positive  can- 
nibals. Such,  it  is  likely,  were  the  Cyclopeans,  Lestrigons, 
Sicanes,  and  Siculian  swarms,  which  long  terrified  the  more 
southern  Asiatic  emigrants  on  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean. 
But  before  the  historical  era,  they  were  already  followed  by 
others  (the  mining  and  forging  Idxi  Dactyli?)  and  blended 
with  the  first  Gomerian  people  that  came  westward,  and 
together  with  them,  finally  merged  into  various  Celtic  tribes  of 
Italy,  Gaul,  and  Spain,  and  occupied  the  north  coast  of  the 
Adriatic,  where,  notwithstanding  the  character  they  bear  with 
posterity,  they  were  advancing  in  the  arts  of  civilization. 

Others  of  a  still  greater  Scythic  innervation,  it  may  be 
inferred,  penetrated  by  the  passes  on  both  shores,  along  the 
western  Caucasian  chain,  and  crossing  the  ridges  of  Armenia 
Minor,  came  upon  the  Upper  Euphrates,  skirted  the  eastern 
flanks  of  Ammanus,  till  they  reached  the  Syrian  coast ;  or, 
continuing  to  descend  the  banks  of  the  great  river,  formed  a 
portion  of  that  Scythic  element  which  is  constantly  traced  in 
the  Hebrew  historical  records,  and  repeatedly  noticed  in  the 
heroic  age  of  Arabian  traditions. 

In  this  way  they  constituted  the  chief  source  of  that  red- 
haired  people  which  is  still  found  in  the  mountains  of  Pales- 
tine, and  is  known  as  the  Montefict  Arab,  and  probably  formed 
the  first  or  primitive  Phoenician  pirates  and  traders.  A  tribe 
of  this  people  was  extant  on  the  Euphrates,  under  the  name  of 
Ehustumi ;  others  occupied  the  Arabian  islands ;  and  if  all 
the  earliest  Scythian  tribes  were  of  the  same  mixed  origin,  they 
were  the  invaders  who  ruled  in  Egypt  by  the  names  of  Hyksos 
and  shepherds;  the  same  who  were  the  cause  why  red-haired* 

*  The  quality  of  red  hair  belongs  exclusively  to  northern  Asia  and  Eu- 
rope ;  beside  the  Northmen  and  their  descendants,  it  is  still  almost  wholly 
national  among  several  mixed  tribes  of  northern  Russia.     If  Assvria  once 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  299 

men,  and  even  rufous  oxen,  were  sacrificed,  after  their  expul- 
sion, in  detestation  of  their  dominion.  They  may  have  been 
the  parent  stock  of  the  Beni  Koreish,  since  the  Seyads,  who  in 
Asia  still  pride  themselves  as  descendants  of  the  prophet,  stain 
their  beards  to  a  red  color ;  and,  finally,  clans  are  likewise  still 
found  scattered  inland  of  the  northern  African  shores,  where 
they  are  taken  to  be  remnants  of  the  Vandals,  who  were 
indeed  a  branch  of  the  same  stem  that  came  round  by  the  west 
end  of  the  Mediterranean. 

Finnic  Scythse,  Rauwolf's  Trusci,  may  have  passed  to  Abys- 
sinia with  the  first  Arabian  tribes,  and  influenced  the  building 
of  cities  of  wolf  priests,  such  as  was  the  capital  city  Tegulet ; 
for  who  but  a  people  of  northern  origin  would  have  thought  of 
wolf  gods  and  lupine  priests,  particularly  in  Africa,  where  no 
true  wolf  is  as  yet  proved  to  exist?  for  the  Ounce  of  Egyptian 
Sycopolis,  Siout  of  the  Pramestine  Mosaic,  surely  cannot  be 
the  insignificant  Chakal  or  Canis  Anthus.* 

We  have  omitted  to  notice  another  characteristic  that  marks 
the  primaeval  Finnic  tribes,  namely,  their  dwellings,  which 
once  were  in  Europe  similar  to  those  of  the  present  Tschutski 
of  Eastern  Asia,  and  of  the  North  American  Indians  of  the 
same   stock.     They  are  figured  in  Catlin's  Travels,  and  still 

was  held  by  red-haired  men,  they  most  assuredly  originated  from  people 
beyond  the  Caspian. 

*  This  worship  was  well  known  in  the  south  of  Europe,  where  northern 
tribes  had  penetrated.  Finns,  Etruscans,  or  Pelasgians,  most  likely 
instituted  the  Hirpi,  wolf  priests,  at  Soracte,  the  Luperci  at  RCme,  the 
most  ancient  sacerdotal  order  in  the  city.  Such,  again,  were  the  priests 
of  Latona  at  Delphi.  They  existed  at  Thebes  in  Egypt,  and  were  in  all 
cases  funereal  ministers.  They  had,  it  is  probable,  mysteries  which  were 
the  origin  of  the  power  to  assume  any  shape,  ascribed  to  the  Budas  or 
blacksmiths  of  Abyssinia,  to  the  Wehrwolf  in  Europe  and  Asia,  the 
Escolar  of  Portugal,  and  of  Bassa  Jaon,  the  mysterious  smith  of  the 
Basques,  the  Crewe,  Blotmen,  sacrificial  priests  of  the  northern  nations, 
who  slew  human  victims;  the  medicine  men,  exorcisers  of  North  Amer- 
ica, the  Shamans  of  Asia,  and  even  the  Druid  victimizers,  wore  wolf-skin 
dresses,  or  at  least  girdles  of  that  material. 


300  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

more  correctly  in  those  of  Prince  Maximilian  of  Wied.  In  the 
west  they  were  named  Dan,  Den,  Tan,  Ton,  &c,  denomina- 
tions preserved  in  Denmark;  Danes  Tannie res  in  Belgium; 
Tonningen  in  North  Germany.  They  exist  now  in  Lapland, 
and  among  the  Samoyeds  ;  are  the  origin  of  the  legends  of 
the  Bergmen,  burrowing  men,  where  the  forging  Alfen  dwelt, 
who  were  miners  and  sword  smiths  in  Asia,  Scandinavia,  and 
Germany,  including  Carinthia,  long  the  legendary  dwelling  of 
Laurin,  brother  of  the  Norwegian  Alperich,  and  the  Asiatic 
Sinnel,  princes  of  a  dwarfish  people.  Even  the  garden  of 
roses,  the  mysterious  retreat,  where  the  dwarf  king,  with  his 
subterranean  powers,  was  vanquished  by  Dietrich  of  Bern, 
the  Gothic  hero,  might  perhaps  be  pointed  out  in  the  won- 
derful cavern  of  Adelsberg  *  with  its  mysterious  river,  not 
far  from  various  mines,  and  particularly  that  of  quicksilver, 
about  Idria. 

Having  been  checked  in  a  western  progress,  perhaps  by  the 
still  remaining  salt  marshes,  already  interspersed  with  barren 
sea  sands,  in  north-western  Asia,  the  Scythic  Finns  accumu- 
lated and  grew  to  nations  of  variously  mixed  character,  not  un- 
like those  already  noticed  in  south-western  Asia  and  Egypt ; 
but  it  was  ages  later  before  they  developed,  and  pushed  on  by 
Lake  Ladoga  to  the  Baltic.  Here,  propelling  the  true  Hyper- 
boreans, they  became  Finn-laps,  and  next,  the  earlier  Scandi- 
navian inhabitants,  at  the  same  time  that  they  formed  also  the 
Esthonian,  Biarmian,  Prussian,  and  other  maritime  people.  On 
all  these  coasts,  a  certain  affinity  with,  or  pressure  by,  new 

*  This  is  close  by  the  elevated  Schneeberg.  The  Laybach  is  twice 
lost  in  the  earth,  and  again  reappears.  The  Zirknitz  Lake,  supplied  by 
subterranean  torrents,  suddenly  becomes  empty,  and  as  rapidly  fills  again  ; 
where  also  the  mysterious  Proteus  Angui7ius  comes  up  from  reservoirs  of 
everlasting  night.  The  cavern,  twelve  miles  in  length,  is  adorned  with 
stalactites,  forming  halls,  corridors,  recesses,  pillars,  obelisks,  hangings, 
and  even  forms  of  animals,  so  strangely  commixed,  and  of  such  enormous 
proportions,  that  here  the  powers  of  enchantment  were  naturally  believed 
to  have  held  their  court. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  301 

hordes  of  colonists  possessed  of  Gomerian  blood,  or  at  least  of 
Celto-Scythic  traditions  and  practices,  is  indicated.  It  forms 
the  Celtic  element  in  their  composition  ;  and  from  this  source 
they  acquired,  together  with  a  portion  of  their  dialects,  those 
habits  of  forming  circles  of  stones  and  cromlechs,  which  are 
still  abundant  in  Norway,  in  some  parts  of  north-western  Ger- 
many, and  Friesland.  They  possessed  traditions  originating 
in  the  north  as  well  as  south  of  High  Asia  ;  legends  that  recur 
again  in  the  Celtic  Basque  provinces,  and  even  in  western 
America. 

The  small  clans,  ruled  by  a  patriarchal  or  family  system, 
which  the  earliest  documents  of  the  Celtic  colonists  in  Britain  ac- 
knowledge to  have  found  on  the  soil,  and  whose  smoky  cavern 
dwellings  may  be  traced  perhaps  near  Brixham,  on  the  shores 
of  Torbay,  must  be  referred  to  that  sub-type  of  the  human  race  ; 
for  not  being  of  the  Celtic  stock,  they  could  not  well  be  of  other 
than  of  Finnic  origin.  In  the  generally  scattered  diffusion  of 
residence,  having  abundant  supplies  of  food  from  the  sea,  the 
lakes,  rivers,  and  forests,  small  clans,  with  affinities  in  dialects, 
creeds,  and  consanguinity,  could  not  find  many  motives  for 
hostility.  Those  savage  wars  of  extermination,  rising  out  of 
ambition,  or  for  the  possession  of  favorite  localities,  most  likely 
did  not  occur  until  greater  pressure  of  new  colonies,  vastly 
augmented  populations,  increasing  cultivation  and  wealth, 
roused  cupidity  and  the  spirit  of  dominion  ;  for,  otherwise,  the 
sudden  march  of  whole  nations  could  not  subsequently  have 
taken  place  unmolested  by  neighbors  ;  such,  for  instance,  as 
the  Gallic,  down  the  Danube,  to  Greece  and  Asia  Minor;  the 
Boian,  north-eastward  to  Bohemia;  or  the  Cymber,  from  the 
coasts  of  the  German  Ocean  to  Italy. 

In  the  east  of  Europe  we  find  a  myrmidon  people,  again, 
no  doubt,  burrowing  ants,  like  the  gold-finding  miners  of 
High  Asia,  with  Thessalian  Larissa,  subject  to  the  Thraco- 
Pelasgian  Achilles.  Moreover,  we  find  the  Helotes,  and  other 
indigenous  tribes  reduced  to  slavery  by  conquering  Heleni, 
26 


302  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

who  themselves  acknowledged  gods  of  high  northern  01  gin,  and 
venerated  milk-eating  Scythae.  What  could  these  tribes  be 
but  Finnic  or  Gomerian  Celts,  who,  in  the  east  of  Europe,  as 
in  the  west,  were  fused  into  later  and  more  powerful  tribes, 
with  far  less  resistance  than  is  often  shown  when  kindred  na- 
tions oppose  the  pretensions  of  each  other?*  Hence  races  of 
Finnic  origin  passed,  in  antiquity,  by  conquest  or  mutual  con- 
sent, into  Celto-Scytha?  and  Pelasgians,  so  that  in  many  cases 
it  is  impossible  to  trace  the  nations  further  up  than  to  their 
second  or  third  amalgamation.  We  find  this  substantiated  by 
words  belonging  in  common  to  the  Etruscan,  Basque,  Ligu- 
rian,  and  ancient  languages  of  western  Asia  :  such,  for  ex- 
ample, as  Tar,  in  Tarchon,  Brig,  in  Briga,  Larch,  in  Larissa, 
Gur,  in  Calagurris,  Maitagurra,  the  Durga  of  the  Pyrenees, 
&c;  and  there  are  others,  in  the  traditions  of  tribes  that  appear 
to  have  been  connected  by  Finnic  consanguinity,  such  as  the 
Basque  Haitor,  the  most  early  British  Heytor,  the  first,  if  not 
both,  being  a  denomination  of  a  superior  divinity,  probably  allied 
to  Thor.  There  is  a  still  more  remarkable  coincidence  in  the 
Navarrese  and  Cantabrian  legend  of  the  blue  cow,  lowing 
from  the  verge  of  the  mountain  forest,  when  national  disasters 
were  at  hand,  corresponding  to  the  same  doctrine  anciently 
believed  in  the  western  parts  of  the  present  Hanoverian  domin- 
ions ;  while  both  recall  to  mind  the  celebrated  Indian  mountain 
peak  of  Gho-Karma  (the  moaning  cow),  which,  if  it  have  a 
geographical  position  at  all,  must  be  the  same  as  the  seat  of 
Mahadeo,  at  the  source  of  the  Ganges,  also  known  by  the  name 
of  Himavahn.  These  and  other  Finnic  and  Oriental  elements, 
known  to  exist  in  the  Basque  as  it  is  now  spoken,  justify  the 
claim  we  make  of  that  ancient  race  as  originally  appertaining 
to  the  intermediate  stem  now  under  consideration,  more  par- 

*  The  river  Alpheus  bears  a  Finnic  name,  for  Alf  Elf,  in  Larland  and 
Finland,  still  denotes  a  torrent,  and,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  observe,  that 
Eric  Erk,  in  Swedo-Finnic,  is  still  a  proper  name,  always  considered  a 
synonym  of  Hercules.     The  Heraclids  in  fact  were  Finnic  Got!  s. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  303 

ticula'.'ly  as  among  the  present  inhabitants  of  France  there  are 
still  extant  the  wrecks  of  tribes  (the  Cagots),  which,  from  the 
first  Celtic  invasion  to  the  present  time,  have  never  been 
acknowledged  to  form  a  portion  of  any,  though  the  vulgar  is 
willing  to  believe  they  are  a  residue  of  Arian  Goths :  which 
opinion,  even  if  it  were  correct,  would  not  much  remove  them 
from  a  Finnic  origin. 

We  may  associate  with  these,  also,  the  human  ossuaries  in 
the  caverns  of  Guienne,  in  the  vicinity  of  the  river  Lot  in 
Quercy,  described  in  a  former  article  ;  for  they  indicate  a  mode 
of  disposing  of  the  dead  generally  more  careful  than  the  Cel- 
tic ;  and  from  the  more  common  absence  of  the  skulls,  and 
the  regular  packing  of  the  extremities  in  layers,  an  argument 
may  be  drawn  to  show,  that  they  are  second  and  final  deposits 
of  the  departed  of  a  race,  whose  first  mode  of  preserving  them 
was  to  have  the  bodies  sewed  up  in  skins,  hung  up  for  a  given 
period  in  trees,  and  then  buried,  often  with  a  stag's  horn  by  the 
side  ;  a  practice  long  in  use  among  the  Finnic  and  Gothic 
nations,  and  still  followed  by  kindred  tribes  in  both  Americas. 

These  deposits,  in  the  south  of  central  France,  have  still, 
on  the  mountain  above  them,  the  ruins  of  rectilinear  and 
curved  defensive  works,  not  like  those  of  the  Gallic  tribes ; 
and  as  they  are  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Basque  territory,  it  is 
likely  that  a  kindred  race  was  the  owner  of  the  soil  before 
they  were  subdued  or  expelled  by  the  progressing  Celtae.  It  is 
most  probable,  that  although  the  Finnic  people  spread  over 
Europe,  their  movement  from  the  east  was  in  general  coast- 
wise, and  from  north  towards  the  south  ;  ascending  great  rivers 
from  the  sea,  and  in  some  cases -only  forming  considerable 
communities.  Hence,  jn  Europe  and  the  high  north,  they  are, 
with  scarce  an  exception,  fish-eaters,  boatmen ;  never  riders; 
and  only  graziers,  not  cultivators,  in  the  south,  when  secure 
from  the  nature  of  their  location ;  but  even  then  still  substi- 
tuting osier  and  willow  branches  for  many  purposes  of  domes- 
tic utility ;  for  such  is  still  the  practice  among  the  Basques  as 


304  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

well  as  the  Laplanders.  They  seem,  indeed,  scarcely  to  have 
been  capable  of  successful  resistance  against  Celtic  invaders, 
in  their  more  pure  stunted  growth  ;  and  that  their  physical 
strength  was  only  on  a  par,  and  sometimes  superior  to  them, 
when  they  were  united  with  the  giant  forms  of  Yeta  or  Gothic 
origin,  who  no  doubt  lorded  it  over  them,  but  certainly  had 
also  protective  inclinations.  Now  tribes  of  this  class,  independ- 
ent of  immediate  rulers,  are  constantly  found  to  accompany  the 
smaller  race,  as  in  the  Pyrenees,  where  the  Gascons  of  low 
stature  have  the  stalwart  Cantabrians  for  neighbors  and  kin- 
dred ;  and,  again,  where  the  first  mentioned  form  of  man  is  no 
longer  traceable  in  history,  the  second  is  readily  detected  by 
names  which  always  have  reference  to  giant  statures,  as  we 
have  already  remarked  of  the  Tyrhenians,  &c.  So,  again,  in 
the  swampy  islands  (paludes)  of  ancient  Flanders,  a  small  race 
seems  once  to  have  resided  under  the  early  protection  of  the 
Frieslanders,  Vuriesen  and  Huinen,  both  denoting  giants  in 
the  Theotisk  dialect  of  Belgium,  as  it  was  spoken  in  the  time 
of  Charlemagne.1* 

Huin,  pronounced  somewhat  in  English  with  the  sound  of 
ox  in  coin,  gives  Hoin,  which  immediately  reminds  the  reader 
of  the  name  of  the  Huns,  who  are  now  admitted  to  have  been 
an  Ouralian  Finnic  people,  allied  to  the  Goths,  and  sweeping 
with  it,  in  the  train  of  temporary  conquest,  several  hordes  of 
Mongolians  from  the  east,  whose  strange  aspect  misled,  or 
suited  the  vituperative  dismay  of  Anna  Comnena,  and  the 
Greek  and  Roman  ecclesiastical  writers  of  the  time,  who  had 
little  better  than  abusive  epithets  to  oppose  to  the  conquerors. 

*  There  is  an  imperfect  vocabulary  of  this  form  of  the  old  western  Teu- 
tonic in  Olivarius  Vredius,  Hist.  Comitum  Flandrias,  together  with  some 
fragments  of  Solomon's  Song-,  &c,  in  the  same.  Two  centuries  after,  it 
was  nearly  similar  to  the  Anglo-Saxon.  The  present  dialect  of  Flanders 
still  contains  many  most  ancient  Theotisk  words  disregarded  in  dictiona- 
ries. But  the  examination  of  the  whole  question  is  well  worthy  the  atten- 
tion ;f  English  Saxon  scholars. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  305 

The  Ostrogcths  were  associates  of  Attila,  whose  name  was  held 
among  them  in  high  honor,  for  we  find  it  repeated  in  the  list 
of  Swedish  kings.  It  is  conspicuous  in  the  oldest  German 
Heldenbuch,  and  the  Goths  or  the  Lombards  brought  it  into 
Italy,  where  Azzo  and  Azzolino,  mutations  of  Atzel,  the  Teu- 
tonic form  of  the  name,  are  prominent,  chiefly  among  the 
Ghibeline  nobles,  as  is  naturally  to  be  expected  in  civil  contests 
between  the  northern  and  Italian  races. 

The  early  alliance  of  the  Finnic  stem  with  the  Gothic  nations, 
besides  the  community  of  proper  names,  is  still  more  evident  in 
the  mythical  list  of  their  progenitors,  where  the  denominations 
of  Geat  and  Finn  are  recognized  by  all  the  nations  of  the 
north-west,  including  the  pagan  Saxons  of  the  east  coast  of 
England,  who,  in  the  poem  of  Beowulf,  denominate  themselves 
Geats,  not  Saxons.*  On  the  north  of  the  Baltic,  reminiscen- 
ces of  the  juxtaposition  of  the  dwarf  and  giant  races  are  abun- 
dant. Their  contests  and  intermarriages  are  recorded  in  sagas, 
in  several  cases  recompositions  of  more  ancient  documents, 
though  passing  at  last  into  mythi,  in  a  land  where  Laplanders 
still  exist ;  and  the  conquering  race  in  the  southern  portion  is 
even  now  a  stalwart  people.  What  they  were  in  rude  antiq- 
uity is  often  historically  marked  ;  and  very  recently  a  letter 
from  Professor  Nielson  announced  to  the  Royal  Academy  of 
Stockholm  the  discovery  of  enormous  human  bones,  accom- 
panied by  flint  arrows,  bone  spear-heads,  and  the  remains  of 
horses,  stags,  elks,  and  bears. 


THE    BASQUES. 

From:  the  foregoing  remarks,  we  believe  ourselves  justified 
to  claim  the  Basque,  Esquara,  or  Vascon  people,  to  be  the 
most  southern  of  the  Finnic  stem  in  Europe.     Coming  up  the 

*  See  the  important  preface  to  Beowulf,  in  the  excellent  version  of  the 
original,  by  tbe  learned  John  H.  Kemble,  edit.  1837. 

26* 


306  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

Garonne  from  die  sea,  it  evidently  spread  towards  the  western 
Pyrenees ;  foJ  the  ancient  frontier  fastnesses  of  these  tribes  are 
historically  unknown  to  the  north  of  that  river,  excepting  Cala- 
gurris, now  St.  Lizier,  on  the  Salat,  an  affluent  at  no  great 
distance  from  the  stream  where  it  is  but  first  emerging  from 
the  mountains.  The  nation  extended,  on  the  south  of  the  great 
ridge,  to  the  Ebro,  where  a  similar  fortress,  likewise  denomi- 
nated Calagurris,  now  Calahorra,  commanded  the  upper  Ebro. 
The  capital  was  Pompelo,  in  the  district  of  the  Husia  tribe. 

Denominations  of  places  and  early  superstitions  indicate  a 
Finnic  western  Caucasian  origin.  In  Spain  the  Cantabrians 
were  always  celebrated  for  valor,  and  for  arresting  the  con- 
quests of  the  Moors,  after  the  overthrow  of  the  Goths  ;  per- 
haps evincing,  by  their  support,  a  community  of  origin,  which 
they  alone  possessed  beyond  the  Pyrenees.  Aided  by  these 
hardy  mountaineers,  the  Goths  resisted  the  southern  invaders, 
and  in  the  Asturian  mountains  formed  the  little  kingdom  of 
Oviedo,  which  soon  again  expanded  into  that  of  Leon.  It  was 
in  the  defiles  of  this  region,  that  the  Franks,  under  Charles 
Martel,  or  Charlemagne,  are  related  to  have  lost  their  rear 
guard,  with  Roland,  and  nearly  all  the  heroes  of  the  French 
cycle  of  romance.  They  fell  at  the  pass  of  Roncesvalles  — 
more,  it  is  said,  by  the  swords  of  the  Asturian  mountaineers, 
than  by  the  Arabian  cavalry,  which  are  not  likely  to  have  been 
suffered  to  enter  the  mountain  fastnesses  of  a  small,  warlike, 
and  justly  distrustful  Christian  state.  On  the  north  of  the 
western  Pyrenees,  the  Vascones,  though  early  overlaid  by 
Celtic  tribes,  the  Tarbelli,  and  it  may  be  the  Venomanni  and 
Aturi,  were  nevertheless  of  the  same  nation.* 

*  Consult  Surita.  Both  Quintilian  and  Prudentius  were  natives  of 
Iberian  Calagurris  ;  no  doubt  sprung  from  Roman  colonists. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  307 


THE   LIGIRIANS   OR  LLOGRIANS.  * 

In  the  eastern  Pyrenees  there  was  another  people  equally 
foreign  to  the  Celtse,  with  affinities  which  appear  to  unite  it 
with  the  Finnic  family ;  and  it  was  called  the  Ligurian  and 
Llogrian  (the  Llogrwys  of  the  Celtoe) ;  probably  originally  the 
same  as  the  Greek  Locrian,  which  had  three  tribes  in  the 
mountains  of  northern  Greece,  and  the  colony  of  Osolean 
Locri  in  Italy.  All  these  came  from  the  north-east  of  the 
Euxine,  where  they  had  been  neighbors  of  the  Achai.  They 
had  a  legend  of  their  first  king's  son  having  been  rescued 
from  a  wolf  by  a  serpent.  Naupactis,  the  present  Lepanto, 
was  their  seaport ;  but  originally  they  had  been  savages, 
clothed  in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  and  having  their  wives  in 
common,  like  the  Vascones.  They  had  names  and  terms 
which  were  likewise  found  in  the  Tyrhenian.  Already,  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Gauls,  properly  so  called,  this  people  having 
extended  between  the  Ceveffnes  and  the  sea-coast,  up  to  the 
mountains  of  Spain,  was  encountered  by  other  marine  tribes, 
when,  leaving  some  clans  in  Corsica,  in  the  Hieres  Islands, 
and  among  the  Iberian  families  occupying  the  water  Sycanist 
(the  lagoons  along  the  coast),  they  retreated  to  the   Cottian 

*  They  were  acknowledged  to  he  Hyperboreans  by  descent,  since 
Eschylus  makes  Prometheus  instruct  Hercules  in  the  road  towards  the 
garden  of  the  Hesperides  :  he  must  pass  Caucasus,  then  encounter  the 
fierce  and  innumerable  Ligurians,  and  arrive  at  a  high  northern  latitude. 
His  imagery  looks  like  an  extract  from  Finnic  sagas,  the  Calewala,  or 
Scandinavian  Edda.     Bailley  notices  this  passage,  see  Strabo  Geogr. 

t  Not  unlikely  a  Teutonic  word,  Scckant,  border  of  the  sea.  This  term 
would  have  no  meaning,  but  for  the  lagoons  along  the  coast,  only  separ- 
ated from  the  sea  by  a  continuous  belt  of  shingle.  Sicani,  Sitaceni,  and 
Siculi,  in  this  case,  must  mean  maritime,  coast  men,  water  or  sea  men, 
the  same  as  C^ntii,  in  Britain.  Yet  these  names  again  came  from  the 
Euxine  Bosphorus,  and,  according  toPhilistus,  cited  by  Dion.  Halic,  the 
Siculi  were  of  the  same  race  as  the  Ligures,  notwithstanding  that  Timeus 
named  them  aborigines  of  Sicily. 


308  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

Alps,  the  centre  of  its  national  strength,  where  the  present 
F.edmont  was  in  its  possession.  On  the  side  of  Italy,  the  cap- 
ital, Ticinum,  now  Paviy ,  was  in  the  district  of  the  Lcevian 
tribe,  with  the  Libuans,  on  the  banks  of  Lake  Garda,  and  the 
nation  extended  to  the  vicinity  of  the  present  Avignon,  where 
Strabo  places  the  Celto-Ligurians.  They  long  were  bold  sea- 
men, and  a  brave  and  industrious  people,  defending  their  lib- 
erties against  Roman  encroachment  during  forty  years,  before 
their  last  tribe  was  subdued.  They  had  been  early  disturbed, 
both  in  the  Alps,  and  on  the  coast,  by  Gallic  invaders,  who 
absorbed  or  forced  settlements  among  them.  It  was  from  the 
Ligurian  tribe  of  Legobriges,  about  the  year  B.  C.  600,  when 
the  Phoenician  and  Rhodian  trade  had  declined,  that  the  Plio- 
cian  Euxinos  obtained  the  cession  of  the  port  of  Marseilles, 
by  means  of  Petta,  daughter  of  the  chief  Nannus.  The  trans- 
action is  related  with  particulars,  both  by  Aristotle  and  Justin  ; 
but  the  fact  itself  indicates  the  consanguinity  of  these  tribes 
with  the  Grecian  Locri,  who  were  neighbors  of  the  Pho- 
cians. 

By  the  eminently  marine  habits  of  this  people,  and  their 
migrating  disposition,  they  were,  it  seems,  scattered  in  various 
regions;  and  nowhere,  except  at  the  head  of  the  Adriatic  and 
in  the  Alps,  had  national  consistency.  They  were  of  common 
origin  with  the  Istrian,  Liburnian,  and  other  tribes,  who  appear 
likewise  to  have  claimed  a  Colchian  descent.  Their  ships, 
from  the  humblest  raft,  and  the  coracle  of  three  and  a  half  ox- 
hides, sewed  and  stretched  over  a  frame-work  of  willow, 
changing  successivelyto  lintres,  logs,  longs,  Liburnic-biremes, 
caracks,  caravellas,  and  finally  to  ragusas  or  argosies,  were  in 
general  the  models  of  those  adopted  by  other  nations,  and 
Reul  was  their  most  ancient  guiding  star  at  sea.  But,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Liburnians,  they  were  no  longer  mariners 
than  the  swarming  period  of  their  departure  from  Asia ;  for 
in  subsequent  accounts  we  find  them  move  by  land ;  and  if 
they  were  the  same  nation  as  the  Llogrwys,  or  Llogrians,  of 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  309 

British  legend,  they  had  once,  at  least,  a  tribe  seated  on  the 
Llobregat  in  Spain,  and  no  doubt  were  in  part  the  migrators 
who,  on  retiring  northward,  crossed  the  Cevennes  to  the  head 
waters  of  the  river  Loire  (Ligeris),  which  they  decorated  with 
their  own  national  appellation.  Here  they  were  joined  by 
another,  the  Illyrian,  Venetic,  Henyd,  Wend,  or  Gwyned  tribe 
or  association,  for  it  may  have  originated  entirely  in  the  com- 
mercial spirit  of  the  more  enlightened  persons  of  several  tribes, 
and  even  whole  clans. 

The  Illyrian  Alps,  placed  between  Pannonia  and  the  Adri- 
atic, contain  a  variety  of  nations,  which,  like  those  of  West- 
ern Caucasus,  might  claim  to  be  aboriginal,  if  they  also  were 
not  known  to  have  been  colonies,  which,  in  remote  ages,  came 
up  the  Danube,  and  were  subsequently  driven  to  the  mountains, 
while  others  passed  through  the  Bosphorus  from  the  Black 
Sea,  or  came  from  Asia  Minor,  and  skirted  the  coasts  of 
Greece.  Strabo  mentions  not  less  than  eleven  tribes,  some  of 
which  we  find  again  on  the  coasts  of  Colchis,  and  others  are 
.^.ow  admitted  to  be  Scythian  and  Finnic.  The  Veneti,  Carnes, 
&c  ,  belong  to  this  group. 

THE  VENETI. 

Accokding  to  their  national  tales,  plainly  the  invention  of 
later  ages,  the  Italian  Veneti  pretended  to  be  a  colony  of  Tro- 
jan fugitives,  under  the  conduct  of  Antenor.  After  they  arrived 
in  the  west  they  warred  with  Servius  Velesus,  king  of  the 
Euganeans;  and  their  records  hinted  at  a  consanguinity  with 
the  Heneti  of  Paphlagonia,  where  they  were  horsemen  and 
hired  soldiers,  and,  headed,  it  is  said,  by  king  Pylemenus,  they 
served  Priam  in  the  Trojan  war.  But  they  were  thrifty  deal- 
ers, since  to  them  is  assigned  the  introduction  of  mules  in  the 
markets  of  Asia  Minor.  The  Greek  poets  spoke  of  their  coun- 
try, situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  Eridanus  (the  Po),  perhaps 
also  the  Rhine,  where  the  Celtee  dwelt;  and  Virgil  was  well 


810  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

acquainted  with  their  legends  and  assumed  descent.  Industri- 
ous, like  modern  Armenians,  they  had  successively  demanded 
the  protection  of  the  strongest  power  near  them.  At  one  time 
the  Ligurians,  and  subsequently  the  Romans,  took  upon  them- 
selves to  defend  their  interests  from  Gallic  aggression.  Their 
capital,  Padavium,  now  Padua,  probably  was  one  of  those  neu- 
tral marts  necessary  to  barbarous  nations ;  it  was  older  than 
Rome,  and,  in  the  time  of  Tiberius,  the  second  city  of  Italy  for 
extent  and  riches. 

They  were,  Herodotus  asserts,  Illyrians;  and  Servius  names 
CEnetus,  or  Wenetus  as  one  of  their  kings,  assigning  them  to 
the  same  stock  as  the  Liburnians  ;  also  the  Tauricians,  who, 
like  the  Ligurian  Taurini,  had  no  doubt  a  Taurine,  or  Tor  god; 
the  Vindelicians,  still  more  allied  to  the  tribes  of  the  Baltic, 
with  the  Brennians  and  Genaunians  ;  all  at  one  time  derived 
from  the  northern  shores  of  the  Euxine.  Beyond  the  Liburni 
and  Veneti,  the  Sigynnse  were  the  only  people  known  to  Hero- 
dotus, as  far  as  the  Ister  (Danube) ;  but  as  this  name  in  the 
Ligurian  tongue  merely  denotes  traders  (Zigeuner,^  pedlers, 
tinkers),  we  may  helieve  that  it  was  a  denomination  of  the 
Venetic  merchants,  who  went  overland  to  that  river,  and  thence 
traversed  Germany  to  the  Baltic,  where  they  had  tribes  of 
kindred  origin.  Therefore  the  whole  may  be  claimed  as  of 
Finnic  source,  collectively  originators  of  the  numerous  markets 
(nationally  Ventae)  existing  before  the  extension  of  the  Roman 
sway  to  beyond  the  Rhine  and  Danube,  like  a  commercial 
net- work  over  the  west  of  Europe.  In  Italy  the  word  Forum 
was  substituted  for  vent  or  guent  by  the  Latin  nations,  while 
they  left  Venta  to  be  used  beyond  the  Alps.  These  were  what 
are  now  known  by  the  name  of  Scalae  among  the  more  modern 

*  It  may  be  remarked,  that  both  the  present  Armenians  and  the  gypsies 
Zincali  (Zigeuner  of  the  Germans)  have  a  cranial  structure  very  much 
resembling  the  high  northern  tribes  of  Finnic  Hyperboreans,  and  are  simi- 
larly nomads  and  soothsayers,  sharp  in  dealing,  and  ever,  like  the  others, 
averse  to  war. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  311 

Italians;  Markt,  Fair,  and  Kioping,  of  the  Gotbx  nations. 
The  existence  of  these  emporia  explains  how  the  classical 
ancients  came  so  early  to  be  acquainted  with  the  amber  coast 
of  the  north  ;  for,  in  the  third  century  B.  C,  Pythias,  a  Grecian 
traveller,  and  Divo,  a  Bithynian,  at  a  later  date,  visited  the 
present  provinces  of  Pomerania  and  Prussia  ;  and  though  the 
work  of  the  first  named  is  lost,  quotations  remain  sufficiently 
to  establish  the  attention  his  narrative  must  have  deserved.^ 


THE   ETRUSCANS. 

There  was,  beside  the  two  nations  of  Upper  Italy  here 
noticed,  a  people  more  ancient  than  either,  having  in  the  lan- 
guage it  spoke  roots  of  Teutonic  still  more  abundant ;  which, 
although  it  was  believed  to  be  derived  from  two  widely  sepa- 
rated sources,  still  bore  the  same  import  in  the  designations  of 
both  their  names.  One,  the  Rasenic,  it  was  asserted,  had  pos- 
session of  the  lower  Tridentine  Alps,  when  the  other  (the 
Tyrhenic)  came  up  by  sea,  it  is  said  from  Tyrra  in  Lydia,  and, 
landing  at  the  mouth  of  the  Po,  built  Adria  or  Hadria,  on  the 
margin  of  the  river.  The  present  town  stands  more  than 
twenty  feet  above  the  original  foundations,  and  ten  above  that 
which  existed  in  the  time  of  the  Romans;  facts  which,  taking 
the  accumulation  of  the  soil  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  to 
have  advanced  at  an  equal  rate,  would  give  about  3600  years 

*  Pythias,  quoted  by  Pliny,  flourished  about  330  B.  C.  He  visited  the 
amber  coast,  and  notices  the  Guttones  on  the  Montonomon  estuary  (  lie 
Frische  Nahrung),  at  one  day's  journey  from  the  island  Abalus  (  he 
present  Palmeniken),  where  amber  was  cast  up  by  the  sea.  Divo  is  men- 
tioned as  having  visited  the  Baltic  in  the  reign  of  Augustus  ;  he  is  quoted 
by  Jaroslaw,  domprobst  of  Ploezk.  There  is  in  Spon  even  an  attempt  to 
figure  Hyperborean  hunters,  one  riding  a  stag  (reindeer)  being  shown 
galloping  towards  a  net.  The  work  of  art  is  from  a  bas-ielief,  found  at 
Etruscan  Anxur. 


312  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

for  the  arrival  of  the  colony  which  first  commenced  the  city. 
Such  a  period  is  consistent  with  the  first  arrival  of  the  Celtae 
in  <  raul. 

The  Semi-Finnic  Tyrheni  were  certainly  allied  to  the 
Thraco-Pelasgians,  and  spoke  a  dialect  not  yet  clearly  asci  r- 
tained;  had  at  a  very  early  period  an  alphabet,  which, 
although  primarily  also  of  sixteen  letters,  neither  coincides 
with  the  Cad  mean  nor  with  the  Roman.*  They  were  in 
possession  of  a  growing  civilization,  such  as  smelting  ores,  and 
casting  in  brass  effigies  and  bas-reliefs  of  divinities  and  men 
(they  could  even  plate  them  with  silver  and  gold),  and  made 
fictile  vases  variously  colored  ;  whereon,  either  in  consequence 
of  captured  Greeks  being  among  their  early  slaves,  or  from 
causes  not  known,  there  are  found  depicted  Hellenic  Mythi, 
often  with  circumstances  not  mentioned  in  the  Greek  poets, 
and  yet  extending  over  the  whole  geographical  surface  of  their 
fables,  from  Palestine  and  Asia  Minor  to  Sicily,  and  even  to 
Gades  in  Spain.  Like  the  Pelasgians,  they  built  walls  of 
cities  with  stones  of  enormous  dimensions,  generally  in 
courses,  with  more  regularity;  but,  unlike  them,  they  had  fre- 
quent subterranean  passages,  or  galleries  of  mines  beneath 
their  cities,  the  use  of  which  is  not  yet  understood.  They 
constructed  their  tombs  usually  in  caves,  dug  with  skill  and 
considerable  beauty,  so  well  concealed  and  blocked  up,  that 
many  have  been  discovered  only  in  latter  times;  and  these  are 
found  to  have  been  adorned  with  sculptures  and  paintings  of  no 
mean  artistical  merit.  The  national  mythology  was  however 
totally  distinct  from  the  Greek  or  Roman,  and  approximated, 
or  was  identical  with,  that  of  other  Finnic  tribes.  Such  were 
the  Falsen  of  Etruria  (Falaces),  pillar-gods,  usually  repre- 
sented in  pairs,  once  well  known  to  the  pagan  Scandinavians, 

*  It  appears  that  the  Greek  alphabet  never  contained  at  one  time  all  the 
Etruscan  forms,  and  they  continued  to  write  from  right  to  left.  It  is 
probable  the  early  Celts  wrote  with  the  same  letters. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  313 

the  Laplanders,  and  the  Finnic  Lithuanian?,  and  still  found  in 
the  houses  of  the  Tschutski  of  the  north-east  of  Asia* 

Being  brave,  and  skilled  in  the  arts  of  life  and  war,  although 
they  had  contests  with,  and  expelled  the  Kerkopes  (by 
the  name  evidently  a  dwarfish  race,  which  fled  to  Sicily),  it  is 
evident  that  they  were  not  numerous  during  their  occupation 
of  the  present  Lombardy ;  for  they  withdrew  to  make  room  for 
the  Ligurians  and  Heneti,  and  were  driven  off  still  further  by 
the  Gauls,  their  strong  walled  cities  being  all  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean side  of  Upper  Italy.  Rome  itself  was  partly  an  Etrus- 
can colony,  and  owed  most  of  the  elements  of  its  greatness  to 
the  institutions  and  example  of  that  people.  It  is  to  be 
regretted  that  these  tribes,  ruled  by  independent  Lucumons,1 
wanted  national  unity  when  they  were  strong;  for  what  the 
barbarians  had  begun  on  the  north-west,  the  Romans  fin- 
ished from  the  soutli-east,  the  whole  nation  being  gradually 
absorbed  by  the  conquering  republic.  They  were  manufac- 
turers, merchants,  and  navigators,  till  they  were  worsted  by 
Greek  assailants,  coming  from  Sicily,  and  by  the  Phocian 
colony  of  Massilia.  Yet  it  is  to  the  objects  of  barter  which 
they  themselves,  or  the  friendly  Venetic  traders,  or  subse- 
quent rival  Carthaginians,  Greeks,  Romans,  and  Gauls,  carried 
down  the  Loire,  or  across  the  German  territory  to  the  Baltic, 
that  we  must  refer  the  bronze  effigies,  heads  of  standards  (?), 
helmets,  shields,  arms,  and  even  coins,  often  containing  Greek 
mythological   subjects,  but   bearing   scarcely   any   tokens   of 

*  See  Ossian,  Ca-lodin,  "Like  the  pillars  of  Lodin  at  Sliva."  —  Duan 
II.  Were  these  perchance  also  the  same  as  the  Finno-Teutonic  Alces, 
Alkes,  Alsen,  brethren  divinities,  with  a  priest  clothed  in  woman's  gar- 
ments, and  honored,  without  images,  in  a  wood?  It  may  nevertheless  be 
suspected,  that  elk  or  stags'  horns  represented  them,  as  reindeer  horns 
are  still  used  for  idols  by  Laplanders  and  Samoyeds.  Ailsen,  on  the 
Weser,  may  have  been  a  local  city  for  them,  and  the  meaning  might  be 
perhaps  taken  from  Elke,  each  or  both.  Certainly  not  Castor  and  Pollux, 
in  the  classical  view  of  these  meteor  gods. 

t  Lucumon,  Teutonic  Lachman,  man  of  law,  judge. 
27 


314  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

Greek  skill;  for  all  these  have  been  found  in  Gaul,  Britain, 
the  Tyrol,  in  the  waters  of  the  Baltic,  and  even  in  the  bogs  of 
Ireland.* 

The  three  nations,  Etruscans,  Ligurians,  and  Veneti,  called 
the  river  Eridanus,  which  each,  in  turn,  had  possessed,  by  the 
names  of  Podan,  Podines,  Podinco  (the  Po),  the  terminal  par- 
ticle being  still  abundantly  found  in  certain  localities  of  Lap- 
land. To  these  we  might  join  the  kindred  Illyrian  tribes,  both 
on  the  Danube  and  the  Adriatic,  the  pirate  Liburni,  with  their 
fast  rowing  galleys,  the  Carni,  and  other  clans,  as  before  shown, 
mixed  even  with  the  Hellenic  race;  and  all,  like  the  true  Finnic 
people,  with  remarkable  veneration  for  the  dead,  for  sorcery, 
apparitions,  and  human  sacrifices.  But  for  the  present  these 
circumstances  may  be  passed  over,  as  we  shall  have  occasion 
to  revert  to  them  in  the  sequel. 

Few  vestiges  of  the  Finnic  people  can  now  be  traced  in  the 
hill  and  mining  regions  of  middle  Europe,  excepting  perhaps 
in  the  Alpine,  where  the  name  of  Tschudi  is  still  preserved  in 
one  or  more  families  of  some  distinction;  and  to  the  west,  in 
the  Highlands  of  Scotland,  or  in  northern  Ireland,  where  the 
significant  name  of  the  Fion,  Fingall,  Fingal,  represents  a 
marine  tribe,  avowedly  acquainted  with  Lochlin,  Norway, 
Friesland,  or  more  properly,  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Baltic ; 

*  Such  is  the  bronze  group,  eight  inches  high,  representing  the  Centaur 
Chiron,  with  young  Achilles  on  his  back,  in  the  act  of  drawing  his  bow, 
and  a  dog  leaping  against  the  fore-leg  of  the  horse  part,  the  whole  stand- 
ing on  a  scroll  with  a  ferule,  evidently  intended  to  support  e  lance.  It 
was  found  near  Sidmouth,  much  worn  by  ages  of  attrition  in  the  wash  of 
the  sea.  Again,  a  winged  figure,  sounding  a  trumpet,  having  one  knee 
bent,  the  other  resting  on  a  globe,  supported  by  a  ferule,  eight  inches 
high,  found  in  the  bog  of  Allen  in  Ireland.  Also  numerous  specimens  of 
small  brazen  two  and  three  horned  bulls,  ensigns  of  the  Sequani,  Taurini, 
&c,  bas-relief  figures  of  champions,  in  copper,  found  in  Tyrol,  and  silvei 
elastic  spiral  weighing-scales,  with  Roman  stamp  upon  them,  found  in 
the  Baltic  ;  all,  excepting  the  last,  bearing  evidence  of  Etruscan  or  bar- 
barian workmanship. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  315 

by  its  name  clearly  assuming  the  mixed  origin  of  Finn  and 
Gael.  It  was  one  marked  as  miners  and  sword  smiths,  person- 
ified in  the  name  of  Luno,  and,  moreover,  a  tribe  with  Finnic, 
not  Celtic,  religious  superstitions.  These  qualities  ally  the 
Fion  closely  with  the  oldest  Cymbers  of  the  north-west,  who 
were  themselves  Scythian-Celts,  which  is  the  same  as  Finns 
of  mixed  origin  with  northern  Celtse.^ 

Further  north,  from  Denmark  to  the  extremities  of  the 
Baltic,  Teutonic  Finns  were  spread  all  along  the  shores  of  that 
inland  sea,  perhaps  even  in  Jutland,  the  best  known  still 
existing  either  entirely  Germanized,  or  only  so  in  their  per- 
sonal appearance.  In  Scandinavia,  they  were  miners  from 
remote  ages,  wherever  the  topography  of  the  land  gave  assur- 
ance that  ores  were  beneath  the  surface.  On  the  German 
side,  fishermen,  navigators,  pirates,  and  merchants,  collectively 
known,  in  a  subsequent  period,  as  Venden,  Vandals,  Vuidini, 
having  every  appearance  of  a  consanguinity  with  the  Veneti 
on  the  Adriatic,  and  exchanging,  by  their  means,  amber  and 
peltry  with  the  nations  of  the  south,  through  the  interior  of 
Germany.  The  city  Wineta,  on  the  west  of  the  Isle  of 
Usedom,  in  the  subsequently  known  kingdom  of  the  Obotrita3, 

*  The  Creon  dynasty  acquired  supremacy  over  the  Gaelcoch,  or  Red- 
Haired  Celts,  in  the  second  century  of  the  Christian  era.  From  the  fall 
of  Galgacus,  four  generations,  Trenmor,  Trathal,  Comhal,  and  last  Fin- 
gal,  ruled,  when  the  power  appears  to  have  passed  to  the  Maeatae,  or  to 
the  family  of  Gaul,  the  more  ancient  head  of  the  people.  During  the 
Creon  dynasty,  the  conquests  of  the  Romans  were  first  arrested  and  then 
thrown  back  behind  the  wall.  But  whether  the  name  of  Fingal  be 
derived  from  Vindgael  (head  of  the  foreigners),  may  be  questioned, 
though  all  the  Gallic  nations  then  in  the  north  were  strangers.  There 
were  iron  works  in  Britain  before  Caesar's  invasion,  as  is  proved  by  the 
chains  and  fastenings  of  the  fleet  he  defeated  on  the  coast  of  Gaul. 
The  bardic  similes  still  notice  "the  hundred  hammers  of  the  furnace," 
"the  stream  of  metal  from  the  furnace,"  &c.  There  is  even  the  shiel- 
ing of  Glenturret,  called  Renna  Cardich,  or  the  smith's  dwelling, 
with  remains  of  cinders,  scoriae,  and  ruins,  all  evidence  of  antique  iron 
works. 


316  NATUKAL   HISTOKY    OF 

but  now  sunk  beneath  the  sea,  was  the  first  and  greatest 
emporium  of  the  north,  having  paved  streets,  temples,  it  is  said, 
with  brazen  gates,  and  a  vast  population  of  strangers  and 
nations  of  various  origin  forming  the  citizens.  Wineta,  per- 
haps the  typical  Vana-land  of  mythic  sagas,  was  the  parent 
community,  whence  Arkona,  Jomsberg,  and  Jollin  originated. 
It  was  the  most  distant  of  the  Venetic  commercial  establish- 
ments; others  being  at  Venta  Allobrogum,  now  Vienne,  on  the 
Rhone ;  Bienne,  at  the  Vendoni  Campi,  near  Zurich  ;  at  Venda, 
now  Augsburg;  Vendobona,  now  Vienna,  on  the  Danube; 
Vannes,  on  the  Loire  ;  Guines,  aear  Calais,  probably  also  at 
Gwent  or  Vennemare,  near  Ghent;  at  Vingium,  now  Bingen, 
on  the  Rhine ;  Venta  Belgarum,  now  Winchester,  and  Venta 
Icenorum,  Caer  Gwent.  They  extended  even  to  Ireland, 
where  Ptolemy  places  the  Promontorium  Venicinum.  They 
repeated,  in  this  manner,  the  commercial  policy  of  the  Phoeni- 
cians, whose  name  may  not  be  unconnected  with  the  Veneti, 
and  anticipated  what  the  Baltic  Vandal  Lombards  again 
restored,  in  the  middle  ages,  under  the  form  of  Lombard 
streets,  in  most  commercial  cities  of  mediaeval  Europe. 

They  had  a  commercial  intercourse  through  Russia,  and 
with  the  Greek  colony  at  Olbio,  on  the  Borysthenes.  It  may 
even  be  no  chimerical  supposition,  that  it  was  from  the  Baltic 
cities  that  the  Hyperborean  annual  donation  came  to  Delos, 
which  Herodotus  and  others  have  noticed.  According  to 
Took,  the  Permians  had  a  barter  trade  with  the  Indo-Persians, 
by  the  Volga  and  Kama,  to  Tscherdyn,  on  the  Kolva,  where 
they  received  the  goods,  and  carried  them  up  to  Petchora,  in 
exchange  for  furs.  Thus  the  presence  of  Hindoo  opinions  and 
idols  may  be  accounted  for,  in  the  poems  and  antique  remains 
among  the  Finnic  nations.  The  entirely  foreign  commence- 
ment of  the  above-named  cities  is  proved,  among  other  indica- 
tions, by  their  ha  nng  alone,  of  all  the  Baltic  nations,  temples 
for  national  iiols  while  other  Finns  had  only  sacred  hedged 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  317 

ocalities  for  their  divinities  and  religious  ceremonies.*  As 
already  stated,  there  were  two  distinct  races  successively 
inhabitants  of  Wineta,  and  the  other  neutral  trading  communi- 
ties on  the  south  of  the  Baltic ;  the  first,  composed  originally 
of  true  Veneti  from  the  Adriatic,  strengthened  by  Celta?  from 
the  same  quarter,  —  by  Roman  outlaws  and  fugitives,  —  by 
Celto-Scytha?,  that  reached  the  north  by  ascending  the  Sarma- 
tian  rivers,  and  by  Yeta  or  Goths  from  the  Lake  of  Ladoga, 
all  cemented  together  by  marriages  with  Finnic  wives,  a  prac- 
tice that  commenced  at  least  three  centuries  before  the  reign 
of  Augustus,  and  which  finished  by  forming  the  tribes  dena- 
tionalized by  all  the  immediate  people  around  them  into  that 
power,  which,  under  the  name  of  Vandals  and  Venden,  pene- 
trated, about  five  centuries  later,  southward  to  the  seat  of  their 
relatives  or  progenitors.!  A  second  community  formed  after 
their  departure,  and  retaining  only  a  part  of  the  former  popula- 
tion, was  composed  of  Finnic  Sarmatians  still  more  heteroge- 
neous ;  for  the  first,  arising  out  of  a  congregation  of  merchants, 
who  had  taken  wives  from  the  Finn  or  Sclavonic  resident 
tribes,  formed  a  homogeneous  community,  without  tribal  dis- 
tinctions, and  assenting  to  the  same  pagan  divinities ;  but  the 
second  was  an  assemblage  of  clans,  which  retained  their  dis- 
tinct nationalities,  lived  in  separate  quarters,  and  even  distinct 
castles,  until  they  rebelled  against  the  authority  of  the  magis- 
trates. These  people  were  known  to  the  Huns  by  the  name 
of  Vuinid  Fulce,  the  same  as  the  Celtic,  Wenid  Vole,  and 
Theotisk  Wenden  Folk,  and  the  acceptation  of  Wend  or  Vend 
is  still  retained  in  the  modern  Belgic  Vent,  a  man  of  superior 
importance,  a  wanderer,  a  travelling  merchant.  Vend,  in 
Gaelic,  a  head  or  chief;  the  fusion  of  the  Finnic  Yeta  with  the 

*  Mone  gives  detailed  notices  of  the  nationality,  religion,  and  institu- 
tions of  the  Finnic  nations  of  the  Baltic.  See  "  Geschichte  des  Heiden- 
thums  in  nordlichen  Europa,"  vol.  i. 

t  They  first  appeared  in  arms  against  the  Romans,  in  the  reign  of  M. 
Aurelius,  A.  D.  173. 

27* 


318  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

Celtic  race  being  perceptible  in  various  recorded  names  and 
events.  Thus,  in  A.  D.  563,  the  Winetans  elected  for  their 
king  Saino,  a  pagan  Sennonian  Gallic  merchant,  who  con- 
tinued his  reign  during  thirty-five  years.  A  Finnic  Celt,  of 
great  ability,  has,  during  the  present  generation,  again  found 
an  elective  throne  in  the  high  north.  The  Boii,  a  tribe  of 
Celto-Scytha?,  wandered  from  Gaul  to  Bohemia,  perhaps  a  pris- 
tine home  ;  others  resided,  according  to  Lelewel,  in  Gallicia, 
all  before  the  Christian  era;  and  therefore  Gaul  was  not  un- 
known to  the  Vandals  when  they  removed  to  the  south.  We 
trace  the  Celtic  nationality  still  further,  in  the  name  of  Wal- 
linische  Werder,  the  locality  where  Jomsberg,  one  of  the  sister 
cities,  was  built;  even  at  Dantzig,  the  same  influence  was  per- 
ceived in  the  appellation  of  the  river  Rodaun.  Historically,  it 
is  found  in  the  bond  of  long-enduring  neutrality  which  the 
Winetans,  then  called  Vandals,  maintained  among  themselves, 
the  Goths,  Suevi,  and  Burgundians,  during  their  offensive  wars 
against  the  Roman  empire ;  and  their  power,  in  the  facility 
which  Stilicho,  a  native  Vandal,  found  towards  the  attainment 
of  the  first  honors  of  the  empire,  as  well  as  for  raising  up 
enemies  against  it  in  his  own  cause.  Political  considerations 
may  have  prevented  the  Vandal  inroad  from  proceeding  beyond 
Pannonia  towards  Italy.  The  Illyrian  Veneti  probably  bought 
off  the  invaders,  and  pointed  out  the  greater  facility  of  con- 
quests in  the  south  of  Gaul  and  Spain ;  for,  being  inferior  in 
numbers,  and  less  national  than  the  Goths,  as  subsequent 
events  in  the  peninsula  of  Spain  attest,  they  were  well  advised 
to  pass  on,  and,  when  followed,  were  even  then  compelled  to 
retire  to  Mauritania,  where  Genseric  took  Carthage  in  439, 
and  subsequently  being  called  over  to  Italy,  he  plundered 
Rome  in  455,  but  only  to  return  to  Africa.  Although,  accord- 
ing to  Witichindus,  Wineta  was  then  flourishing  on  the 
Baltic,  the  Adriatic  Veneti  began  at  Venice  again  to  form  a 
central  commercial  emporium,  and  their  numbers  were  soon 
so  great  at  Constantinople,  that  the  blue  faction  in  the  hippo- 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  319 

drome,1*  representing  the  manufacturing  power,  wholly  in  their 
hands,  gave  cause  for  serious  alarm  to  the  government ;  even 
to  a  degree  that  ridiculous  measures  were  resorted  to,  such  as 
secretly  enclosing  the  effigy  of  a  blue  Veneta  in  the  brazen 
hoof  of  the  winged  group  of  Bellerophon,  in  order  that  by 
means  of  this  talisman  the  Venetic  superiority  might  be  coun- 
teracted. 

In  the  Baltic,  however,  the  more  recent  mixed  communities 
of  Winetans,  now  first  called  Aestii,  or  Ostmen,  began  to  droop 
by  internal  dissension,!  and  by  the  revival  of  trade  in  the  south 
of  Europe,  till  the  great  stonn  of  809,  when  the  city  being  par- 
tially submerged,  and  Jomsberg  nearly  ruined,  broke  their  power; 
and  though  they  made  several  gallant  stands  against  the  pirati- 
cal rapacity  of  the  Northmen,  Wineta  was  sacked  by  Hemming, 
king  of  the  Danes,  leaving  the  wreck  of  former  industry  to  sur- 
vive only  until  Henry  the  Lion,  Duke  of  Saxony,  led  a  cru- 
sade against  the  Sclavonic  tribes  of  the  coast,  and  commenced 
their  absorption  into  the  German  race,  leaving  the  completion 
of  the  task  to  the  zeal  of  two  religious  orders  of  knights,  which 
effected  their  conquest  in  the  thirteenth  century. 

The  Finnic  races,  originally  more  pacific,  industrial,  and 
sedentary,  were  often  broken  through  by  migratory  hordes  from 
the  east;  their  colonies,  towards  the  south,  were  isolated  or 
absorbed,  sometimes  so  changed  by  intermixture  that  the  lan- 
guage became  pseudo  Gothic  or  Theotisk.  Thus,  very  an- 
ciently, it  becomes  doubtful  whether  the  Suciones  (Swedes)  were 
of  the  last  mentioned  or  of  the  first  race ;  most  likely  they  were 
mixed ;  for  Suomi,  the  proper  name  of  the  present  Finns,  resem- 
bles the  old  Scandinavian  appellation. 

Of  the  Sclavonic  Finns,  Prussian,  Livonian,  Esthonian,  Per- 

*  Blue  was  the  sacred,  and  still  is  the  most  esteemed  color  of  the  Finnic 
nations  of  the  north,  as  well  as  of  the  Illyrian  Veneti. 

t  Winni  or  Wenden,  Heneti  or  southern  Wynetae,  Suliones,  Slavi,  Rossi, 
Camhrivii,  Circipanni,  Rutheni,  Greeks,  and  Jews,  began  to  fortify  sep- 
arate quarters  against  or  for  Christianity. 


320  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

mean,  Lithuanian,  and  Courlanders,  we  need  not  give  details, 
which  are  already  generalized  in  Balbi  (Atlas  Ethnographique), 
and  reviewed  with  as  much  learning  as  detail  in  Mone,*  who 
describes,  circumstantially,  the  national  traditions,  gods,  and 
religious  worship  of  the  different  nations,  and,  among  others,  of 
the  Prussian.  It  is  remarked,  that  no  people  of  the  north  was 
once  so  rich  in  literary  monuments ;  for  though  a  vast  quantity 
of  legends  and  traditions  still  exist,  there  were  thirty-one 
national  chronicles  consulted  by  Hennenberger,  all  of  which 
have  perished,  excepting  five,  it  is  supposed  by  the  contempt 
of  the  Teutonic  order  of  knights,  and  by  the  neglect  of  the 
kings  of  Poland,  who  shared  the  ancient  archives.  From  the 
above,  it  is  clear,  that  a  vein  of  indigenous  civilization  had 
worked  on  the  Baltic,  perhaps  drawing  its  remote  source  from 
Bactria,  by  commercial  Colchis,  totally  distinct  from  southern 
lore,  excepting  in  the  degree  which  Greek  and  Roman  inter- 
course might  have  afforded,  or  Jewish  wanderers,  who  early 
found  favor  among  the  Finnic  Tahtars  of  Western  Asia,  may 
have  introduced. 


THE   FINNS   OR   SUOMI. 

Crossing  the  Gulf  of  Finland,  we  come  to  the  Suomi,  Finne- 
lap,  or  Finn  people,  still  so  called,  which,  however,  notwith- 
standing the  rocky  hills,  innumerable  lakes,  and  many  woods 
wherein  it  lies  concealed,  the  three  sealike  gulfs  which  surround 
it,  and  the  rigorous  winters  of  that  latitude,  has  still  not  escaped 
perhaps  more  than  half  hybridism ;   for  the  northern  portion 

*  "  Geschichte  des  Heidenthums  in  nordlichen  Europa."  The  abun- 
dance of  records  and  manuscripts  was  here,  no  doubt,  as  elsewhere,  the 
consequence  of  national  intermixtures.  King  Vanland,  who  wedded 
Drifva  (trade),  daughter  of  old  King  Snoe,  may  represent  the  peaceful 
mercantile  intercourse  with  the  Venetic  cities.  Snoe  himself  gives  an 
idea  of  ermines  and  peltry,  or  at  least  of  the  high  latitude  where  the  trade 
was  carried  on. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  321 

alone  can  be  considered  as  typical  of  the  semi-intermixture  of 
the  Hyperborean  and  Caucasian  stocks.  It  is  there  alone  that 
the  Lapland  tongue  finds  so  much  affinity  as  to  amount  to  a 
decided  similarity;  there  the  great  distinguishing  mental  char- 
acteristic of  the  whole  subtype  is  observed,  in  the  permanence 
and  generality  of  iron  mining  propensities;  the  godlike  office 
of  the  forging  smith,  the  constant  poetical  allusion  to  gold, 
silver,  and  iron,  are  prominent ;  and  all  the  sorcery  and  incan- 
tations of  the  Laplanders,  short  of  their  magical  drums,  even 
now  in  vogue,  —  practices  alike  common  to  the  kindred  Shamans 
of  Asia  and  the  Angekoks  of  Arctic  America.  Although  the 
Finnic  race  repudiates  in  national  pride  all  consanguinity  with 
the  Laplander,  the  northern  portion  almost  equally  reviles  the 
southern,  because  it  is  less  conversant  with  the  old  nationali- 
ties, and  is  more  generally,  if  not  altogether,  tall,  straight,  and 
fair-haired.  On  examination,  we  are  assured  that  there  is 
equal  distinctness  in  the  cranial  structure  between  them ;  but, 
as  yet,  no  account  of  a  thoroughly  scientific  inquiry  in  this 
question  appears  to  have  reached  middle  Europe. 

They  are,  moreover,  accused  by  the  Swedes  of  being  more 
malevolent,  a  greater  proportion  of  Finns  occurring  on  the  list 
of  malefactors  than  of  natives  of  Sweden,  when  both  countries 
were  under  the  same  crown ;  and  though  the  linguistic  affinities 
were  described,  and  the  religious  dogmas  were  supposed  to  be 
sufficiently  well  known,  the  recent  discovery  of  a  Finnic  poem, 
named  the  Kalewala,  shows  that  the  sources  of  research  in  the 
north  are  far  from  exhausted,  and  that  their  harmonious  lan- 
guage was  anciently  more  polished  than  has  been  thought.* 

The  ancient  Finns  were,  however,  mixed  with  Yeta  races  at 
a  very  early  period ;  since  a  peaceful  union  between  them  is 

*  Kalewala,  or  the  adventures  of  Waina  Moina,  the  god  of  verse,  a 
Finnic  epic  poem,  in  thirty-two  runas,  published  by  Professor  Loenroth, 
a  Finn  by  nation.  There  is  a  French  version  of  it  by  M.  Leouzon  le  Due, 
1846  ;  but  it  is  strange  we  hear  of  none  in  German,  though  the  work  is 
regarded  as  perfectly  genuine. 


322  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

clearly  shown,  in  the  names  of  Finn,  Suen  or  Sum,  that  is, 
Sweno  and  Atzel,  or  Attila,  which  occur  both  in  the  lists  of 
Swedish  kings,  Lombard  chiefs,  and  in  part  among  the  Ger- 
manic, gods.  The  physical  Jotun  (Yeta)  appear  to  have  been 
the  giant  masters  of  this  people,  till  they  were  vanquished  by 
the  Gothic  Asi,  and  driven  to  live  in  rocks  and  caverns,  afford- 
ing a  foundation  of  that  dualism,  afterwards  mythologically 
applied  for  the  national  runes,  which  even  do  not  conceal  dislike 
to  the  Asi,  and  felicitously  represent  them  as  destined  to  be 
ultimately  vanquished ;  for  the  basis  of  Scandinavian  mythic 
lore  is  Finnic. 

Fornjoter,  the  King,  progenitor  of  the  Finnic  people,  bears 
not  a  proper  name,  but  an  appellative  of  distinction.  His  altars, 
overthrown  by  Thor,  show  a  system  of  worship  destroyed  by  the 
Asi,  but  nothing  to  disprove  that  the  whole  did  not  come  from 
the  east ;  that  region  whence  their  mythological  kindred,  the 
Jotun,  are  to  arrive  from,  in  the  ship  Nagelfar,  at  the  last  day 
of  the  world's  existence.* 

Immediately  on  the  north  of  the  Suomi,  are  the  tribes  of 
Laps,  who  speak  a  dialect  of  the  same  language,  although  they 
are  almost  pure  Hyperboreans.  The  somewhat  equal  inter- 
mixture of  this  race  with  a  Gothic  people  constitutes  the  real 
basis  of  the  Finnic  sub-typical  stem,  since  others,  more  to  the 
eastward,  with  Slavonic,  and  again  with  Caucasian  Yeta  tribes, 
produce  the  same  result.  Thus,  it  may  be  assumed,  the  Hunnic 
power  was  likewise  generated  in  Asia  from  eastern  Caucasians 
mixed  with  Hyperboreans;  for,  when  interunion  occurs,  the 
Caucasian  type  so  readily  becomes  superior,  that  it  is  soon 
doubtful  whether  any  Mongolic  blood  can  be  externally  observed 
to  be  present.  This  is  in  Asia  the  case  with  the  fair  Ostiaks 
of  Siberia  — the  Wotiaks  and  Tscheremisses  —  the  Mordwines 
and  Wogules ;  and,  in  a  less  degree,  among  the  Permeans  or 

*The  Finns,  like  the  American  Savages,  have  feasts  of  the  bear  hunt, 
mystical  notions  of  his  origin,  and,  like  them,  give  him  by-names,  believ- 
ing in  his  superhuman  knowledge. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  32S 

Syrians  of  Russia,  and  even  the  Ghoorkas  of  the  Himalayas 
are  accounted  Zwergi,  or  of  dwarf  race. 

THE  HUNS. 

The  Huns,  originally  from  Yoguria,  being  kindred  of  the 
Wogules  and  Ostiaks,  held  the  region  between  Tomsk  and 
Tobolsk,  till  they  moved  westward  to  the  confines  of  Europe. 
De  Guines  and  Klaproth  differ  on  their  origin  more  in  degree 
than  fundamentally.  They  are  first  noticed  in  the  time  of 
Augustus,  by  Dion.  Periegetes.  In  the  second  century  they 
occupied  the  extensive  region  between  the  Caspian  Sea  and  the 
Borysthenes,  having  propelled  or  incorporated  the  Gepidoe  and 
the  eastern  Goths.  They  advanced  in  A.  D.  375,  to  beyond  the 
borders  of  the  Danube,  and  became  the  most  formidable  power 
of  Asia  and  Europe ;  for,  in  the  fifth  century,  under  Attila,  they 
had  sway  from  the  borders  of  China  to  the  Rhine,  his  capital 
city  being  Buda,  or  Hunnic  Ettelvar.  They  ravaged  with 
their  armies  all  Germany  and  the  north  of  France,  and  pene- 
trated to  the  gates  of  Rome.  At  that  period  most  of  the 
nomad  tribes  of  Asia  were  in  his  service ;  hence  the  nation 
might  have  been  called  ferocious  and  ill-favored ;  but  here  also 
the  Caucasian  element  had  already  so  greatly  influenced  the 
external  form  of  the  Ispans,or  higher  chiefs,  that  these  were  not 
inferior  to  any  other  privileged  races  of  Europe.^    The  proper 

*Tlie  goat  face  of  Attila,  with  horns  and  beard,  represented  on  a  Latin 
medal,  together  with  the  assertion  that  he  called  himself  "Flagelluni 
Dei,"  is  mere  monkish  quibbling  upon  the  names  Atzel,  Attel,  Attains, 
carried  to  the  Hebrew  Atzail,  a  wandering  goat  ;  hence  in  Arabic,  Azalin, 
Satan.  Attila's  profile  on  a  coin  is  shown,  with  lengthened  features,  a  pair 
of  wings  at  the  shoulders,  and  his  private  symbol  5S£  occurs  beneath  the 
figure  of  a  horse  on  the  reverse,  so  much  in  the  manner  of  Hindoo  Bactrian 
art  that  there  can  be  little  doubt  of  its  authenticity.  He  died  in  453.  A 
coin,  given  for  one  of  Attila,  or  Ath-tila,  king  of  Sweden,  circa  548,  is 
more  properly  applied  to  the  Hunnic  sovereign  ;  for  he  is  figured  on  horse- 
back, carrying  in  his  hand  the  trident  or  tripula,  a  real  Bactrian  weapon  ; 
yet  there  he  is  styled  Gauta  og  Suethiot  Kongr.  See  GenswolfFruna  Kefli ; 
also  profiles  of  Hyatili  princes  among  coins  in  Wilson's  Aria  Antiqua. 


324  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

names,  Balamir,  Bleda,  Iring,  and  Atzel,  the  Lombardy  Atzo, 
Ailfred,  and  other  words,  show  the  Gothic  element  pervading 
usages  and  objects  of  social  convenience ;  and  the  courts  of 
their  kings,  if  the  old  Burgundian  (Frankish)  legends  may  be 
credited,  were  as  hospitable,  as  polished,  and  as  splendid,  as 
those  of  the  Greek  and  Latin  sovereigns  of  that  time.  The 
Huns  subjected  or  associated  the  Haiatili,  white  Huns,  Heph- 
tal  of  the  Armenians,  a  partial  kindred,  with  the  Yuchi  and 
Sacai,  who  came  from  beyond  the  Oxus,  and  were  seated  in 
Meweram  and  Khawarism,  with  the  capital  Gogo,  probably  Ker- 
keng.  They  invaded  Affghanistan,  Scinde  and  Persia,  in  428  ; 
but,  driven  back  by  Baharam-Ghor,  were  extended  on  the  north 
of  the  Caspian  ;  but,  if  the  conjecture  of  Professor  Wilson  be 
admitted,  they  were  still  powerful  east  of  the  Indus,  since  they 
took  and  destroyed  the  vast  city  of  Valhabi,  in  Gujrat,  in  the 
year  524  of  our  era. 

When  the  Hunnic  empire  had  declined,  we  find  a  large  force 
of  their  cavalry  under  the  command  of  Iliphred  and  Apsich,  in 
the  service  of  the  Byzantine  emperor,  forming  the  left  wing  of 
the  army  at  the  battle  of  Solacon,  in  the  year  586,  where 
Philippicus  defeated  the  Persians. 

Other  Finnic  nations,  debris  of  the  Hunnic  empire,  such  as 
the  Avares,  became  predominant  in  Eastern  Europe  in  the 
sixth  century.  In  conjunction  with  the  Lombards,  they  de- 
stroyed the  power  of  the  Gepidae,  a  tribe  of  Yeta,  who  had  again 
risen  to  independence,  defeated  Sigebert,  king  of  the  Franks, 
and  rendered  the  Bulgarians  tributary;  but,  in  the  next  cen- 
tury, revolting  under  the  conduct  of  Conviat,  these  in  their  turn 
became  puissant,  and  long  held  sway  in  Maesia,  on  the  south 
of  the  Danube. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  325 


THE    KHAZARS. 

The  Khazars,  already  mentioned  by  Armenian  writers  of  the 
second  century,  were  a  nation  both  warlike  and  agricultural ; 
and,  being  greatly  intermixed  with  Jewish  exiles,  they  changed 
from  Budhism  to  the  Mosaic  tenets  in  the  seventh  century,  and 
conferred  the  title  of  Hake  (king  priest)  to  a  Hebrew  family, 
while  the  temporal  authority  continued  in  the  hands  of  the 
Khagan.  In  85S  they  became  Christians,  but  forsook  the  cross 
to  please  the  Chorasmians.  They  traded  largely  in  peltry 
from  the  north,  and  in  other  wares  from  the  south-east  of  Asia. 
Usually  the  allies  of  the  Greek  empire,  their  dominions  ex- 
tended from  the  Sea  of  Aral  to  the  river  Bogue.  Their  capital 
was  Baliangar,  or  Attel,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Volga,  and  they 
having  formed  a  portion  of  the  Hunnic  empire,  and  probably  ab- 
sorbed the  Haiatili,  appear  to  have  built  cities  in  Hungary, 
doubtless  by  colonists,  or  by  establishing  ventas. 


THE     HUNGARIANS.* 

The  Hungarians,  or  Magyar  Toorkees,  seem  to  have  issued 
from  the  same  Ouralian  quarter,  and  were,  with  the  last  men- 
tioned, formidable  to  the  Khalifs  of  Persia,  about  the  close  of 
the  seventh   century.     By  the  end  of  the  ninth,  they  found 

*  The  Byzantine  writers  view  the  Huns  and  Turks  as  the  same  ;  and, 
indeed,  the  names  Huns,  Hungarians,  Unni  Occidentales,  Onoguri,  Ugri, 
Ungri,  Ongri,  are  all  the  same,  or  tribes  of  the  same  people.  The  Avari  or 
Abares  may  have  had  a  greater  Caucasian  element  in  their  national 
origin.  In  the  whole  of  the  high  region  west  of  the  Caspian,  to  the 
Euxine  and  eastern  coast  of  the  Mediterranean,  as  far  as  the  Hellespont, 
it  is  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  separate  distinctly  the  Finnic  from  the 
pure  Germanic  and  Celtic  nations.  Long  before  the  historic  age  they 
absorbed  a  Melanic  nation,  which  Herodotus  called  the  Colchian  in  his 
time.  The  Pelasgi  and  Dorians  were  perhaps  Lesghi,  and  tribes  that, 
went  into  Thynia,  from  the  coast  of  Thrace,  only  completed  a  circle  of 
emigration  round  the  Euxine. 
28 


326  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

themselves  established  in  their  present  abode,  where  hey 
incorporated  the  remnant  of  ancient  Huns,  still  left  in  Panno- 
nia.  They  long  ravaged  central  Europe,  until  they  became 
Christians  in  the  eleventh,  from  which  period  they  have  been  a 
repeated  spoil  of  the  Osmanlis.  The  Magyars  offer  another 
instance  where  the  Finnic  stem  produces  gigantic  men;  for  the 
Hungarian  grenadiers  and  the  national  heydukes  are  more 
generally  of  great  stature  than  any  other  nation  of  Europe. 
During  the  time  they  resided  near  the  Black  Sea,  they  appear 
to  have  been  in  close  friendship  with  the  Zychi  or  Circassian 
tribes  ;  for  they  have  not  only  a  great  external  correspondence 
of  appearance,  but  the  Circassian  language,  like  the  old  Arme- 
nian and  the  Hungarian,  contains  a  great  number  of  Finnic 
words,  and  the  Lesghi-Avares  of  the  same  mountains  have 
many  Hunnic  proper  names  still  retained  among  them. 

It  is  probably  to  these  tribes  of  pure  Caucasians,  or  of 
hybrid  Finns,  that  the  Gog  and  Magog  giants  of  antiquity,  or 
rather  the  Haiguge  and  Magiuge  of  Curds  and  Persians  so 
long  the  terror  of  south-western  Asia,  are  to  be  traced  ;  for  the 
pass  of  Derbend,  on  the  Caspian,  was  already,  in  remote  ages, 
vainly  closed  by  artificial  defences,  to  keep  them  from  pene- 
trating to  the  south.* 

The  interunion  of  Hyperborean  with  northern  Caucasian 
races  constituting  also,  in  our  view,  the  Ouralian  stem  of 
arctic  Asia,  it  follows,  that  in  this  place  the  Toorkee  tribes, 
who  have  the  same  conformation  of  the  skull  as  the  bearded 
stock,  should  be  classed  with  the  Finn  or  Tschudic  group, 
although  they  are  known  originally  to  have  been  Hyperboreans 
of  the  most  deformed  personal  exterior,  according  to  European 
notions.     They  have  already  been  mentioned  in  the  notice  of 

*  Portae  Caspioe  and  Pylae  Albanije  of  the  classical  writers  ;  Derbend, 
gate  of  security,  in  Persia  ;  Demir  Capi,  iron  gate  of  the  Turks.  The 
Chinese  wall,  the  Sassanian  lines  of  Chorassan,  and  the  Roman  wall  of 
Britain,  were  all  constructed  to  arrest  the  progress  of  the  same  Hyperbo- 
reans of  mixed  origin. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  $27 

the  Mongolian  type,  to  which  they  were  most  strictly  allied,  so 
long  as  they  remained  unmixed. 


THE    TURKS. 

Thus,  the  Atrak  Turks,  more  especially  the  Osmanlis,  differ 
from  the  other  Toorkees,  by  their  lofty  stature,  European  feat- 
ures, abundant  beards,  and  fair  complexions,  derived  from 
their  original  extraction  being  Caucasian,  of  Yuchi  race,  or 
from  an  early  intermixture  with  it,  and  with  the  numerous  cap- 
tives they  were  for  ages  incorporating  from  Kashmere,  Affghan- 
istan,  Persia,  Syria,  Natolia,  Armenia,  Greece,  and  eastern 
Europe.  Both  these  conjectures  may  be  true,  because  the  Cau- 
casian stock,  wherever  we  find  it,  contrives  to  rise  into  power, 
from  whatever  source  it  may  be  drawn,  and  therefore  may  in 
part  have  been  pure  before  the  nation  left  eastern  Asia, 
while  the  subordinate  hordes  remained  more  or  less  Hyperbo- 
rean in  character;  as,  in  truth,  the  normal  Toorkees  about  the 
lower  Oxus  still  are.  All  have,  however,  a  peculiar  form  of 
the  posterior  portion  of  the  skull,  which  is  less  in  depth  than 
the  European,  and  does  not  appear  to  be  a  result  of  the 
tight  swathing  of  the  turban.  Osmanli  Turks  are  a  handsome 
race,  and  their  children  in  particular  are  beautiful.  The 
Tschudic  Toorkees,  moreover,  had  in  ancient  times  a  Sabsean 
alphabet,  written  vertically  from  right  to  left,  not  brought,  as 
De  Sacy  appears  to  believe,  from  Syria,  by  early  Christian 
sects,  for  in  that  case  it  would  never  have  been  distorted  to  a 
Chinese  mode  of  placing  the  lines.  It  is  more  likely  the  real 
ancient  Bactrian  form,  one  connected  wifi  the  literature  and 
science  of  remote  ages,  not  to  be  so  peremptorily  rejected,  be- 
cause no  other  proofs  of  this  kind  of  Runic  or  Ogham  are  now 
to  be  found  in  the  region  where  it  flourished ;  and  the  Sanscrit, 
more  perfect,  and  more  extensively  dominant,  supplanted  it, 
even  in  Thibet.  At  a  remote  age,  they  came  upon  the  Taujiks 
/original  Persians) ;  they  subdued  or' expelled  them,  and  named 


328  NATURAL   HISTORY    OP 

their  conquest  Toorkistan.  It  is  to  the  Finnic  tribes,  first  pro- 
pelled across  the  Jaxartes  by  these  conquerors,  that  the  dynasty 
or  the  rulers  named  Afrasiab,  so  celebrated  in  Persian  tales, 
are  to  be  referred,  when  the  names  of  Iran  and  Aniran  first 
began  to  be  distinctive  of  Persia  and  Bokhara,  while  the  adja- 
cent states,  more  anciently  called  Bactria,  retained  the  name  of 
the  capital,  Bactra,  only  in  the  writings  of  the  west ;  for  Finnic 
Toorkees  had  called  it  Zarias,  probably  Serai,  and  at  one  time 
it  bore  the  name  of  Bykum.  Afrasiab,  whose  race  was  fair- 
haired,  proves  that  the  stock  was  not  so  much  Turkish  as  Fin- 
nic ;  and  the  same  inference  applies  to  Salser  and  to  Ros- 
tum  ;  consequently,  that  the  ruling  clan  of  Cabulistan  was  for  a 
period  of  northern  race. 

Of  the  Torkee  branch  the  Hiong-nu,  according  to  Abel 
Remusat,  is  the  most  ancient  recorded  in  history.  It  once 
inhabited  Mongolia  proper,  and  possessed  a  vast  empire,  which 
flourished  about  three  centuries  before  the  Christian  era;  and 
the  dissolution  of  this  state  was  the  chief  cause  of  that  succes- 
sion of  barbarian  invasions,  which,  like  rolling  waves,  inces- 
santly poured  upon  the  west  during  several  centuries,  driving 
intermediate  nations  before  them,  or  breaking  through  discom- 
fited tribes,  which,  in  order  to  escape,  made  the  most  destruc- 
tive inroads  themselves  ;  often  at  war  with  each  other,  the  em- 
pire passing  to  a  different  tribe,  or  with  the  Huns,  and  other 
more  strictly  Finns,  who  in  turn  held  temporary  dominion. 
The  Thou  Kioei,  or  Altaic  Turks,  according  to  Byzantine  his- 
torians, formed,  in  552,  a  vast  empire,  which  soon  reached  from 
the  Caspian  to  China,  and  broke  up  in  703.  It  was  Dzabul, 
their  Kan-Khan,  who  received  the  ambassador  Zemarkh,  sent 
by  Justin  II.,  in  569,  when  another  embassy  from  the  emperor 
of  the  west  was  already  returning. 

The  Tchy-le  or  Thiele,  a  numerous  nation,  resided,  in  the 
sixth  century,  to  the  east  of  Lake  Balkach,  under  the  names 
of  Kaoutche  and  Hoei-he,  and  from  7S8  that  of  Hoei-hou 
represent  the  same  people.     The  Tchy-le,  according  to  Klap- 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  329 

roth,  mustered  above  300,000  horsemen,  and  the  Hoei  were 
formidable  in  the  eighth  century,  when  they  were  already 
advanced  in  civilization.  The  Seldjucks,  so  named  after  the 
chief  adventurer,  who  enlisted  men  of  different  tribes  under  his 
banner  "broke  into  southern  Asia  in  the  ninth  century,  during 
the  reign  of  Malek ;  they  overturned  the  empire  of  the  Khalifs, 
formed  the  states  of  Iran,  Kerman,  and  Roum  or  Iconium ;  and 
from  the  Seldjucks  sprung  the  Osmanlis,  the  present  sovereigns 
of  Turkey.  We  might  here  add  those  tribes  with  Circassian 
chiefs,  the  Petchenages,  probably  identical  with  the  Kanjars. 
The  Romans  and  Uzu,  united  in  the  eleventh  century,  who 
were  known  to  the  Russians  by  the  name  of  Palowze,  and 
Chuni  by  the  Hungarians.  From  the  tenth  to  the  twelfth  cen- 
turies they  were  the  terror  of  eastern  Europe,  till  in  the  thir- 
teenth they  were  exterminated  by  the  Mongols. 

All  these  nations,  as  well  as  the  true  Caucasians  we  are 
about  to  describe,  moved  into  Europe  from  the  distant  east,  by 
routes  which,  it  would  appear,  were  entirely  the  result  of 
chance ;  yet,  upon  examination,  it  is  found  that  the  great 
majority  of  cases,  in  whatever  geographical  locality  a  prime- 
val column  sought  its  permanent  abode  in  the  west,  there, 
also,  one  wave  after  another  of  kindred  race  subsequently 
found  its  home,  notwithstanding  ages  intervened,  and  circum- 
stances had  thrown  new  obstacles  in  the  way.  Perhaps 
intermediate  points  had  continued  to  be  occupied  by  relatives 
of  both,  or  records  of  the  success  of  former  colonists  had 
reached  back  to  their  points  of  departure ;  or,  finally,  it  was 
because  there  are  in  geography  natural  directions  of  progress 
from  one  region  to  another,  however  distant ;  and  that  local 
conditions  impel  all  migrators,  once  moving  on  a  given  line,  to 
follow  it  out  to  the  ultimate  destination.  These  observations 
apply  entirely  in  the  human  movements,  from  east  to  west; 
mountain  chains,  deserts,  the  course  of  rivers,  and  even  real 
obstacles,  conspire  to  produce  the  same  results,  while  the  con- 
trary direction  is  all  but  impracticable.  Intellectual  power 
28*    • 


330  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

alone,  where  arms  have  ever  failed,  brings  it  back  to  the  ea^t 
by  the  progress  of  religious  truth,  of  science,  and  of  the  reason- 
ing of  common  sense  ;  thus  amply  repaying  Asia  for  the  innu- 
merable rudiments  of  practical  and  imaginative  life  we  have 
owed  her  for  so  many  ages. 

Having  disposed  of  the  Finnic  Stem,  and  shown,  in  the  mix- 
ture of  the  Hyperborean  with  the  Caucasian  stocks,  the  direct 
consequence  of  soon  obliterating  the  external  appearance  of 
hybridism,  and  perhaps,  with  somewhat  less  procreative  fertil- 
ity, tending  to  elevate  individuals  and  whole  clans  to  giant 
forms,  we  should  now  proceed  with  the  true  Caucasian  or 
bearded  type,  if  it  were  not  that,  at  the  commencement  of  the 
division  of  the  primaeval  stocks,  we  had  noticed,  on  the  south 
of  the  Caucasian,  that  there  was  similarly  an  intermediate  stem 
formed  of  the  woolly-haired  or  Negro  type,  in  various  states  of 
commixture  with  the  bearded,  where  the  tokens  of  degradation, 
or  of  inferiority,  passed  away  with  even  greater  rapidity,  but 
less  durable  results;  and  though  the  stature  remained  the 
same,  the  marked  difference  of  color  proved  the  descent  from 
hybrids,  who,  like  the  true  Negro  type,  possess  the  perceptive 
and  imaginative  faculties  in  greater  proportion  than  the  more 
enduring  reflective  powers ;  whence  the  incapacity  to  advance 
beyond  a  certain  limit  in  reasoning,  civilization  and  empire, 
seems  to  follow. 

Taking,  therefore  this  stem,  with  a  view  to  have  in  the 
sequel  only  the  pure  Caucasians  to  examine,  we  place  here 

THE  ETHIOPIAN  OR  MELANIC  STEM, 

such  as  it  was  marked  out  by  the  earliest  writers  of  antiquity. 
Under  this  denomination,  it  is  desirable  to  arrange  the 
races  sprung  from  a  real  or  an  apparent  interunion  between 
the  woolly-haired  and  the  bearded  types,  distinguished  by  black, 
curly,  undulating,  or  lank  hair ;  a  sufficient  beard,  with  the  feat- 
ures of  a  Caucasian  form,  partially  and  often  supereminently 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  331 

displayed,  having  the  same  typical  structure,  and  the  color 
intensely  black,  only  when  local  circumstances  indicate  those 
qualities  to  be  so  far  accidental.  It  is  distinct  from  the  sub- 
typical  Malay,  and  tie  intermediate  ramifications  derived  from 
it,  by  well-marked  characteristics,  notwithstanding,  excepting 
where  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  Malay  stem  is  itself 
crossed  with  Indo-Caucasian  tribes  in  the  eastern  provinces  of 
India,  and  in  a  great  part  of  the  southern.  Excepting  that  the 
ears,  especially  of  the  Malabars,  and  the  upper  Egyptians, 
stand  somewhat  higher,  and  that  the  legs  are  proportionably 
longer  than  is  the  case  with  either  of  the  types,  there  are  no 
very  distinct  characteristics  immediately  observable,  though  the 
mouth,  lips  and  nose  are  full,  the  hands,  fingers  and  toes 
broader  and  flatter,  resembling  the  Negro  form.  The  African 
Ethiop  has  the  hair  pendent  in  heavy  close  ringlets,  and  the 
black  eyes  are  still  larger,  and  more  soft,  than  the  Indian. 
Equal  intermixture  constitutes  the  usual  Mulatto  condition ; 
but,  in  the  east,  a  much  greater  infusion  of  Caucasian  blood 
does  not  very  evidently  clear  the  skin.  Some  of  the  .lank- 
haired  nations  of  India,  as  such  bearing  signs  of  more  than 
semi-white  descent,  are,  nevertheless,  among  the  swarthiest  of 
the  whole.  It  has  even  affected  old  Portuguese  colonists,  and 
the  ancient  Jewish  inhabitants  of  India ;  neither,  it  must  be 
confessed,  having  the  least  claim  to  purity  of  origin,  but  being 
a  mixed  progeny  with  low  caste  natives,  themselves,  as  we 
have  before  stated,  descendants  of  aboriginal  Paharias,  Bheels, 
Nagas,  and  with  only  a  small  admixture  of  nobler  blood.  Nev- 
ertheless, among  these  slave  and  outcast  tribes,  the  chiefs  have 
high  aristocratic  features,  which  are  not  unfrequent  among 
their  subjects.  Whether  the  mucous  membrane  of  the  very 
dark  tribes  of  Ethiopians,  with  lank  hair,  assumes  the  same 
appearance  as  that  of  Negroes,  is  not,  so  far  as  we  have  been 
able  to  learn,  remarked;  though,  if  this  condition  of  melanism 
should  not  exist  in  them,  it  would  produce  a  very  valid  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  the  assertion  that  the  woolly-haired  race  is  of 


332  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

a  distinct  origin.  There  cannot  be,  however,  a  doubt  that  in 
the  Mulatto  state,  or  half-bred  Caucasians,  that  peculiar  struc- 
ture of  the  skin  must  be  in  part  remaining,  since,  in  the  charac- 
ter of  the  hair,  we  find  it  in  proportion  of  the  bearded  parentage; 
the  frizzled  and  mop-like  character  passes  into  spiral  curls, 
then  undulates,  and,  at  las.,  is  wholly  straight,  while,  in 
descending  the  scale,  the  mop  becomes  crisp,  and  returns  to 
that  low  state  of  humanity,  which,  in  the  warm  regions  of  the 
east,  was  branded  with  the  reproach  of  being  accursed.  From 
this  imputation,  indeed,  the  more  physically  elevated  real 
Ethiopians  were  not  exempted.  In  the  Sacred  Scriptures, 
with  perhaps  some  exceptions,  Chna  and  Egypt  were  so 
branded  to  the  promulgation  of  the  Christian  dispensation. 
The  hatred  incurred  by  the  race  of  Cham  or  Ham  was,  indeed, 
repeated  in  the  north,  by  the  same  pure  Caucasian  stock, 
towards  the  Hyperborean,  if  we  may  take  the  earliest  Finnic 
Tschutski  to  have  been  the  first  miners,  and,  perhaps,  the 
Tubal  Cain  of  the  Pentateuch ;  for  obloquy  pursued  both, 
although  for  ages  they  were  mixed  races,  and  long  the  deposi- 
tories of  the  dawnings  of  civilization,  though  not  the  first  to 
organize  human  progress. 

Races  of  mixed  Caucasians,  afterwards  known  as  Joktanites, 
Indo-Arabs,  and  Semitics,  descended  the  west  bank  of  the 
Indus,  and,  from  the  remotest  period,  secured  the  whole  Sulei- 
manic  range,  and  at  this  time  already  fixed  upon  the  culmi- 
nating point  of  Takt-y-Suleiman,  or,  rather,  Arawati,  the 
mountain  of  the  dove,  or  the  ship,  for  their  first  remove  of  the 
Arkite  reminiscence  from  its  original  centre.*  They  left  the 
purer  Papuas  scattered  westward,  or  drove  them  onward  till 
one  of  its  tribes  constituted  the  Negro  races,  with  a  taint  of  the 

*  The  Arawati  and  Aryawart  mountains  are,  perhaps,  higher  up  in 
Asia,  and  the  real  locality  of  the  diluvian  record.  But  the  Parveti  Mon- 
tes  of  Ptolemy,  so  named  from  the  Sanscrit  Parvat,  a  dove,  is  Suleiman 
Koh,  12,831  feet  high,  still  noted  for  the  abundance  of  different  species 
of  doves. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  333 

white  stock  forming  the  most  western  branches,  such  as  the 
ancient  Numidian,  and  present  Caffres  and  Gallas. 

In  consequence  of  the  deep-rooted  hatred  of  the  Caucasian 
races  towards  the  typical  Negro,  we  find  those  frequent  allu- 
sions to  purity  of  blood  in  the  Arabian  clans  of  the  desert.  It 
is  the  whole  question  whereon  the  poem  of  Antar  hinges;  for 
co. or  alone  is  not  the  cause,  since  Bedoween  tribes  are,  in 
many  instances,  exceedingly  dark,  from  the  Euphrates  to  the 
west  coast  of  Morocco ;  and  the  Tarikh  Tebry  endeavors  to 
account  for  it  in  the  legend,  which  relates  how  the  ancient 
Arabians  were  fair  and  blue-eyed,  but  so  wicked  that  they 
would  not  hearken  to  the  prophet  Salah.  Miraculous  omens 
had  no  effect,  until,  at  last,  they  were  converted,  in  one  day, 
from  white  to  red,  and,  in  the  next,  to  black.  This  tale  may 
be  the  reminiscence  of  Scythian  inroads  and  conquest,  such  as 
were  effected  by  the  giants  of  the  Pentateuch,  who,  inferior  in 
number,  were  gradually  absorbed  by  the  predominant  race  ;  and, 
though  masters  (for  the  master  race,  in  Oriental  relations,  is, 
in  general,  the  only  object  of  record),  became  dark  in  their 
descent,  and  were  mostly  driven  across  the  Red  Sea.  The 
northern  infusion  was  repeated  more  than  once;  and,  besides 
Egyptian  history,  we  have  the  Geta  and  Arabians  confounded 
by  classical  writers,  as  we  shall  notice  in  the  sequel. 

The  Cushites*  of  antiquity,  confounded  in  many  cases  with 
the  Joktanites,  correspond,  with  scarce  an  exception,  to  the 
Ethiopians,  as  we  here  notice  them :  the  regions  of  Cnsha 
Dwipa  within,  and  Cusha  Dioipa  without,  of  Hindoo  geography, 
exactly  represent  Asiatic  and  African  Ethiopia ;  and  the  names 
of  Iliopiawan  and  Itiopia,  by  which  the  Abyssinians  still  desig- 

*  Chus,  Cush,  Cuth,  according  to  Jacob  Bryant  and  Holwell,  is  derived 
from  outlet,  a  how,  still  the  chief  weapon  of  all  the  wild  mountain  races 
of  India,  the  instrument  they  used  to  achieve  the  death  of  opposing  demi- 
gods, and,  till  lately,  arming  them  as  the  guards  of  rajahs  and  princes, 
who  tc;k  t:em  into  their  service.  Goosch,  in  India,  still  denotes  a 
robber. 


334  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

nate  themselves  and  their  country,  notwithstanding  all  dis- 
claimers to  the  contrary,  denote,  like  the  Arabian  term  Habesh, 
for  the  same  state,  a  mixed  people,  with  perfect  correctness,  for 
they  were  the  first  semi-Caucasian  invaders  of  Arabia,  Cush- 
ites,  Semitic  races  from  the  Suleimanic  range  of  the  western 
border  of  the  Indus.  Fair  tribes,  from  more  northern  high 
lands  of  Asia,  mixed  with  Indian  Nishadas,  or  with  the  local 
Nimreks  of  the  soil,  were  already  a  very  compounded  race  in 
Elam,  before  they  were  driven  across  the  Straits  of  Babelman- 
deb.  They  had,  even  then,  the  elements  of  science  and  civili- 
zation imparted  to  them,  by  the  giant  invaders  of  western 
Asia,  or  by  Gomerians,  high  on  the  Indus ;  for,  to  this  day,  tra- 
ditions, customs,  and  opinions,  prevalent  in  Abyssinia,  bear 
evidence  to  the  fact.  Later  colonists  passed,  no  doubt,  the 
same  straits,  for  a  considerable  influx  from  the  west  of  Asia  is 
evident  in  the  languages  still  spoken  along  the  east  coast,  even 
as  far  as  the  cape  ;  and  the  higher  development  of  the  Galla 
and  Caffre  tribes  can  be  traced  to  a  partial  Semitic  intermix- 
ture. The  basis  of  civilization  must  have  been  communicated 
from  indigenous  progress,  already  developed  in  the  peninsula 
of  India,  or  by  the  more  recent  knowledge  carried  along  with 
the  conquests  of  pure  Caucasians,  in  the  regions  of  the  Ganges, 
or  in  Elam  (Persia),  by  other  conquerors,  but  both  appearing 
to  derive  their  acquirements  from  some  common  source  in  the 
upper  valley  of  the  Oxus. 

The  original  formation  of  the  Ethiopian  stem  appears  to 
have  been  in  the  burning  alluvial  deposits  formed  by  the  Indus, 
and  along  the  southern  foot  of  the  Himalayas,  on  the  Hel- 
mund,  the  Kabul,  in  Cashmeer,  and  the  Punjaub,  where  Cau- 
casian tribes,  seeking  warmer  regions,  encountered  the  black 
races,  ?.nd,  by  conquest  and  slavery,  commenced  amalgamation, 
which  every  new  wave  of  invaders  conduced  to  increase.  Fur- 
ther immigration  to  the  plains  of  India  naturally  followed, 
through  the  secondary  ranges  of  the  mountain  chains,  or  they 
crossed  over  from  the  hiffh  land  of  Thibet.     That  the  move- 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  335 

ment  was,  in  a  great  part,  from  north-west  to  south-east,  is 
proved  by  the  presence  of  Gangarides  in  the  valley  of  the 
Bramaputra,  where,  in  other  respects,  the  foreign  element  in 
the  first  population  was  eastern  Caucasian  or  Malay.  Who 
the  bearded  tribes  were  that  originally  spread  over  China,  was 
sufficiently  shown  in  the  notice  of  the  Mongolic  and  Finnic 
nations  not  to  be  again  repeated,  although  we  have,  on  the 
south  of  Asia,  nations  similarly  constituted,  but  further  debased 
by  certain  Papua  intermixtures,  and  all  feel  the  different  influ- 
ence of  a  southern,  and,  often,  a  marine  climate. 

The  infusion  of  northern  elements  is  strikingly  proved  by 
the  predominating  presence  of  Sanscrit  in  all  the  dialects  of 
India,  although  variously  debased  by  forms  of  speech  of  indige- 
nous origin,  Parbatyia,  Naja,  Dravira,  Bheel,  Nishada,  and 
Yadhu,  &c,  upon  which  it  was  ingrafted.  As  the  invaders 
came  through  the  gorges  of  the  mountains  in  successive 
svvartns,  and  not  always  from  the  same  point,  they  subjugated 
not  only  the  black  aborigines,  but  also  the  mixed  tribes  of  their 
former  conquerors,  leaving  only  that  portion  in  freedom  which 
could  retreat  to  inaccessible  mountain  districts,  to  recede  from 
the  civilization  they  might  have  had  before  their  political  ruin, 
and  either  pure  or  already  under  the  rule  of  masters  not'of  the 
kindred  stock.  The  older  invaders  seem  to  have  been  denomi- 
nated Chasas,  equivalent  to  the  western  term  Asi,  or  Asen,  high- 
landers,  which  is  also  the  meaning  of  Guras.  They  came,  more 
particularly,  from  the  southern  side  of  Hindu  Koh  and  Paropa- 
misus,  in  their  last  debased  condition,  constituting  the  Indo-Arab 
races,  but  here  almost  universally  become  true  Ethiopians  and 
Cushites,  by  union  with  nations  still  more  melanic,  and  who 
formed  the  great  majority  of  the  population.  Other  mountain 
conquerors  first  came  to  the  south  ty  descending  the  passes  of 
Thibet,  leading  to  the  high  basin  of  Cashmeer,  where  the  name 
of  the  capital  being  Nagara  before  it  became  Caspatyrus,  sup- 
poses the  population  to  have  been  Naga,  and  of  the  same  stock 
with  that  of  the  lower  Indus,  where  the  name  was  likewise 


336  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

given  to  a  city,  a  Heliopolis,  as  Strabo  asserts,  where  the 
snake  worship  was  then,  as  it  still  is,  in  existence  in  Cutch.* 
This  very  degrading  worship  was  not  inconsistent  with  the 
idolatrous  sacrifice  to  the  giant  divinity  Muhishan,  whose 
statues  have  a  serpent  wound  about  the  loins,  and  whose 
legend  is  of  so  ancient  and  peculiar  a  character,  that  he  may 
be  regarded  as  a  solar  god  among  the  aboriginal  tribes,  he 
alone  riding  his  war  buffalo  in  battle  against  Durga,  and, 
therefore,  the  supreme  type  of  indigenous  power  before  the 
horse  was  known  in  the  peninsula  of  India.!  That  this 
divinity  was,  by  Hindu,  Arab,  or  Cushite  invention,  converted 
to  Kali,  is  evident  by  the  similarity  of  Moloch,  in  Syria,  with 
both  ;  and,  by  the  retreat  of  Mahades,  another  form  of  the  same, 
to  the  mountains  of  Kylas,  when  in  danger  from  the  assaults 
of  Ravan,  is  shown  that  his  worship  was  not  then  admitted  in 
southern  India. 

Notwithstanding  the  repeated  contradictions  and  dualisms 
of  all  the  Indian  mythological  compositions,  there  are  to  be 
found  shadowy  pictures  of  historical  events  in  the  great  San- 
scrit poems  still  extant;  for  although  even  the  oldest  were 
written  many  ages  after  the  transactions  to  which  they  refer, 
probably  by  men  who  had  no  circumstantial  traditions,  and 
were  more  imbued  with  the  marvellous  and  imaginative  to 
form  mythological  themes,  according  to  poetical  formulae,  than 

*  Cutch  and  Gujrat  may  both  be  connected  with  the  Cuthite  race,  and 
fit  localities  for  migrators  by  sea ;  for  from  Diu,  in  Cutch,  Gama 
despatched  the  open  boat  that  conveyed  the  intelligence  of  his  arrival  in 
India.  It  went  round  the  cape,  and  arrived  safe  at  Lisbon.  Nearchus 
wrent  from  Kurrachee. 

t  We  have  before  mentioned  the  figure  of  a  Rajah  riding  his  war-ox, 
and  the  almost  Ethiopian  CafiYes  of  Africa  mounted  on  them,  to  a  recent 
period.  It  is  probable  that  Hannibal  derived  from  his  Ethiop  Numidian 
companions  the  celebrated  stratagem,  when,  by  means  of  oxen  with  com- 
bustibles burning  on  their  horns,  he  puzzled  the  Romans,  and  extricated 
himself  from  a  difficult  position.  It  may  be  remarked,  that  the  Black 
Muhishan  is  opposed  to  Durga   a  divinity  of  the  invading  mountaineers. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  337 

to  draw  up  historical  documents;  still  there  are  casual  glimpses 
of  facts,  fixing  certain  geographical  data,  and  a  general  current 
of  events,  which  reveals  many  truths,  though  the  dates,  the 
persons,  and  circumstances,  may  be  nearly  all  fabulous. 
Among  the  Sanscrit  poems,  beside  the  Puranas,  there  are  the 
Mahabarata  and  the  Ramayana,  particularly  available  to  form 
approximate  notions  on  the  earliest  history  of  India,  and  the 
composition  of  nations  it  still  contains.  Though  the  substance 
of  the  first  is  said  te  be  fifteen,  and  of  the  second  thirteen 
centuries  older  than  the  Christian  era,  it  will  be  safer  to  con- 
sider both  as  referring  to  events  at  least  as  ancient,  while  the 
poetical  views  of  the  compositions,  exclusive  of  episodes,  such 
as  the  deluge,  &c,  are  evidently  centuries  later,  and  in  all 
cases  refer  to  dates  subsequent  to  the  first  invasions  of  the 
Caucasian  Man,  though  not  to  the  total  subjection  of  the 
Indian  peninsula  to  his  conquests.  We  take  the  Ramayana  to 
be  the  later,  in  point  of  composition,  in  the  form  it  now  appears, 
as  shadowing  forth  the  remotest  known  conditions  which 
affected  the  two  typical  stocks  in  southern  Asia.  The  subject 
matter  is  so  grand  and  exciting,  that  Valmiki's  24,000  slokas, 
or  distiches,  are  not  the  only  though  the  most  complete  elabo- 
ration of  the  theme  now  extant ;  for  there  is  another  ascribed 
to  Vyazudavu,  and  three  or  four  more,  of  which  that  by  Bod- 
hyana  is  said  to  be  replete  with  splendid  passages.  All  relate 
to  the  actions  of  Rama,  the  hero  divinity  belonging  to  the  first 
known  dynasty  of  the  kings  of  Oude,  at  a  time  when  it  does 
not  appear  that  the  other  sovereignties  of  the  peninsula  were, 
as  yet,  in  possession  of  the  conquering  bearded  races.  The 
Nishada,  Vidantha,  Naga  states,  the  kingdom  of  Kapila,  at 
Hurdwar,  on  the  Ganges,  &c,  were  in  the  hands  of  indigenous 
tribes,  and  Lanka  Dwipa  was  the  abode  of  demons.^     Some, 

*  We  have  not  had  access  to  Ward's  History  of  the  Hindoos,  and, 
therefore,  cannot  judge  of  the  view  which  that  learned  scholar  takes  of 
the  primaeval  period.  It  is,  however,  a  subject  of  regret,  that  :  ot  more 
Sanscrit  documents  have  been  published,  and  that  what  is  before    he  pub- 

29 


838  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

like  the  Rana  ot  the  Jaitwar  tribe,  claiming  to  be  descended 
from  the  monkey  hero  Hanuman,  and  pretending  to  have  a 
prolongation  of  the  spine  in  proof  of  the  fact,  shows  at  least  that 
certain  families,  of  whatever  origin  they  may  be  derived,  still 
wish  to  pass  for  descendants  of  aboriginal  tribes.  In  the  north- 
west of  India,  and  east  of  Persia,  Shombho,  Nishornbho,  Muhi- 
shan,  Tarika,  Durga,  and  Ravan  of  Ceylon,  are  indigenous 
giants  of  tradition,  in  all  probability  personifications  of  states, 
and  of  repeated  wars  by  Papua  tribes  against  invaders  from 
the  high  mountains.  The  persevering  nature  of  the  contest 
may  be  gathered  from  the  circumstance,  that  although  all  were 
for  many  ages  ruled  by  chiefs  of  mixed  origin,  their  final  sub- 
jugation was  not  accomplished  till  the  Mahommedan  conquest. 
In  the  usual  dualism  of  mythology  and  history,  we  find 
Kama,  the  son  of  Budha,  and  grandson  of  Aleru,  child  of  the 
sun,  abiding  in  his  holy  mountain,  west  of  Kaubul,  probably 
Indo-Koosh.*  Bali-Rama,  the  hero  son  of  Desaratha,  or  of  a 
tribe  so  denominated,  being  accompanied  by  Jumont  (bears), 
Hanuman,  monkeys  and  other  wild  beasts  constituting  his 
army,  came  down  the  Cabul  river,  across  the  Indus  and  Pun- 
jaub,  established  or  found  already  formed  the  kingdom  of 
Ayodhya,  now  Oude.  He  with  his  brother  Krishna  vanquish 
Jara  Sandha,  king  of  Bahar.  In  these  wars,  the  wild  beasts, 
with  the  bear,  evidently  represent  tribes  from  the  high  cold 
regions,  while  Hanuman,  with  his  monkey  army,  are  the  aborig- 
inal race  of  the  Vindhaya  chain  and  lower  districts,  probably 

lie  must  be  sought  in  many  volumes,   scattered  through  the  literature  of 
Europe. 

*  Mythologically,  the  holy  mountain  may  be  Dhawalagiri,  the  highest 
mountain  in  the  world,  and  in  sight  of  the  northern  border  of  Oude,  in 
which  case  the  Gogra,  or  more  likely  the  gorge  of  the  Gunduk,  in  long. 
88,  may  have  been  the  route  followed  from  Thibet  by  Rama.  The  pass  is 
still  frequented  ;  but  one  was  more  certainly  from  the  north-west,  and  then, 
with  a  tribe  from  Balk,  the  march  was  necessarily  by  he  passes  of  Kohi- 
baba.  Yet  the  Hiudo-Mongoli  dialect  shows  that  i±  least  a  conquering 
people  came  down  Himalaya,  by  the  pass  of  the  Goomty. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  339 

Bheels ;  for  Bhil,  the  god  or  native  prince  of  this  people,  slew 
Krishna  with  an  arrow;  and  in  another  mythus  likewise  killed 
Heri,  one  of  the  Pandoo  brethren.  Defeated  or  expelled  his 
conquest,  Bali-Rama  is  related  to  have  been  an  exile  from 
Oude,  wandering  with  his  wife  Sita,  who,  being  carried  off  by 
the  giant  Ravan,  king  of  Lanka,  originated  the  war  with  the 
Rakhshasas,  cannibal  giants,  in  Ceylon.  After  great  opposi- 
tion, the  insular  defend  is  surmounted  by  the  bridge  which 
Hanuman  makes  of  mountains  to  unite  the  island  to  the  con- 
tinent; and  although  Rama  himself  is  at  one  time  captured  by 
the  Cauravas,  the  hero  divinity  and  Sita  are  both  released, 
Ravan  slain,  and  the  powers  he  ruled  destroyed.  There  is  in 
this  mythus  a  religious  war  indicated,  as  well  as  a  war  of 
races ;  the  victory  is  evidently  indecisive,  since  the  conqueror 
returns  to  northern  India,  and  afterwards  reigns  in  Oude.  In 
this  great  and  brilliant  poem  is  the  first  notice  of  the  people  of 
Balkh,  in  Transoxiana,  under  the  name  of  Bahlikas.  They 
are  represented  as  a  kind  of  fairy  philosophers,  residing  in  the 
holy  mountain,  or  sacred  centre  of  religion ;  still  bearing  a  cer- 
tain resemblance  to  the  revered  and  wise  Scythians  of  the 
Greek  poets. 

In  the  second  period  we  have  no  longer  wars  of  entirely  dis- 
tinct human  stems,  or  at  most  with  only  the  partial  adhesions 
of  the  Naga  races  to  the  invaders ;  they  became  wars  of  inva- 
sion upon  predecessors,  or  intestine  conflicts  among  tribes 
equally  mixed.  The  Mahabarata  mythologizes  the  worldly 
interests  of  these  nations  into  religious  struggles  between  the 
Pandoos  and  Kurus  or  Cauravas,  the  children  of  the  moon  and 
the  sun ;  which  may  be  interpreted  by  the  Celtic,  or  followers 
of  a  lunar  arkite  doctrine,  opposed  to  the  Semitic  or  solar  wor- 
ship, which  belonged  more  probably  to  the  people  of  the  south. 
The  Pandoo  brethren  appear  to  be  Gomerian  Celta?,  sons  of 
Pandu  and  of  Coonti,  a  princess  of  Mathura,  sister  of  Heri  and 
Baldiva,  the  Indian  Hercules.  Coonti  had,  by  several  gods, 
Yudistra,  Bhiraa,  Arjoon,  Nycula,  and  Sydiva,  all  clearly  his- 


340  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

torical  heroes  or  tribes,  enveloped  in  mythological  and  allegori- 
cal forms;  but  the  mythological  circumstances  being  a  parallel 
of  the  Egyptian,  Greek,  and  Roman,  they  are  necessarily  older 
than  the  ages  of  Bali-Rama,  or  of  tip  Pan  loo  brethren.*  They 
are  all  importations  from  Balkh,  modified  in  each  region  by 
local  ingredients.  The  historical  Pandoos  are  first  placed 
geographically  beneath  Cashmere,  in  the  hill  country  north  of 
Lahore,  or,  as  others  relate,  the  Pandiati  Raij  was  on  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Jumna,  with  a  tribe  named  Bahikas  among  them; 
after  their  migration  and  wars  in  the  south,  they  are  established 
in  the  Gomerian  Celtic  state,  the  present  Carnatic,  with  Madura 
for  its  capital.  It  is  in  this  vicinity  that  frequent  cromlechs, 
locally  denominated  Pandoo  Coolies,  are  to  be  found  ;  and  they 
exist  likewise  near  Bombay,  where  the  caverns  of  Salsette,  like 
those  of  Elora  (Yeroola),  confirm  that  the  Pandya  tribes,  like 
Rama,  originally  came  from  beyond  the  Indus,  and  carried  on 
a  religious  war  of  conquest  against  nations  Avho  had  a  solar 
worship.  That  they  penetrated  to  Ceylon,  may  be  surmised 
from  several  striking  coincidences  in  the  oldest  legends  of  the 
island,  when  compared  with  the  ancient  western  tales  ascribed 
by  Welsh  poets  to  the  Druids.  The  significant  prefix,  Tre  or 
Ter,  joined  to  towns  and  places,  is  even  now  as  frequent  on  the 
main  land,  and  in  the  islands,  as  it  is  in  the  Celtic  provinces 
of  Britain  or  France.t     If  Krishna,  the  blackener,  a  designa- 

■+  It  may  lie  observed  that  the  Pandoos  are  children  of  the  watery  ele- 
ment. Coonti  is  a  native  of  the  locality  where  the  Indian  deluge  took 
place  ;  Heri  and  Baldiva  are  solar  personages,  and  the  land  of  their  birth 
is  still  marked  by  numerous  cromlechs. 

t  Compare  the  Ceylonese  legends  in  Upham,  with  the  Celtic  tale  of 
Iseult  and  Tristrem,  where  the  dog  with  three  different  colored  spots,  red, 
blue,  and  green,  represents  the  candidate  for  orders  in  bardic  druidism  ; 
and  the  five  colors  of  the  Hibernian  are  similarly  typified  by  dogs  in  the 
mystical  language  of  the  initiated.  We  name  here  a  few  localities,  bear- 
ing the  prefix  ter,  tre,  tir ;  Travancori  State,  Terepuney,  Teruwalla,  Tri- 
vandrum,  on  the  west  coast ;  Trichindoor,  Tirun,  Tiripauramun,  Teroomun- 
galum,  Teruchooly,  Terumboor,  Tripatoor,  Teruvunpette,  Trinchinopoly, 
Tirnvalur,  Tranquebar,  Trinchingode,  Tircoiloor,  Triomalle,  Tirovady, 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  341 

lion  of  the  sun,  likewise  connected  with  the  Pandoo  mythus, 
have  a  historical  basis,  approximating,  though  probably  still 
earlier  than  1350  years  before  our  era,  it  marks  the  period  of 
the  Helio-Arkite  superaddition  to  the  most  ancient  northern 
Caucasian  system  of  a  trinal  supreme  godhead,  the  Indian 
Trimurihi,*  one  not  unknown  to  the  Celtae  of  western  Europe, 
but  where  it  succeeded  the  Helio-Arkite  doctrines,  or  combined 
with  them,  as  was  also  the  case  in  India,  where  Vishnou  is  the 
Arkite  savior,  and  belongs  to  a  mythus  more  appropriately 
ascribed  to  Gomerian  Pandoos  than  to  any  other  race  east  of 
the  Indus.  To  them  also  may  belong  the  Gomerian  practice 
of  wives  becoming  common  to  a  whole  family  of  males,  such 
as  still  obtains  in  the  mountain  parts  of  the  peninsula,  in  the 
Suleimanic  range,  west  of  the  Indus,  in  Hindu  Koh.  It  was, 
n  a  more  refined  form,  a  dogma  of  the  Hebrews,  was  not 
unknown  to  the  Britons,  and  put  in  practice  by  the  Pandoos. 

In  this  view,  the  Pandoo  invasion  of  the  lower  peninsula 
appears  certainly  to  be  more  remote  than  four  centuries  B.  C, 
and  precedes  even  the  ten  assigned  to  it  by  the  great  authority 
of  Professor  Wilson;  for,  in  that  case,  the  Gomerian  Celtoe  of 
the  west  would  have  reached  their  destination  long  before  the 
arrival  of  their  kindred  in  the  south ;  a  region  so  much  nearer 
to  the  common  point  of  departure.  Were  either  of  the  above 
admitted,  it  would  subvert  the  natural  connection  evidently 
existing  between  the  east  and  west,  and  leave  the  source  of  a 
f  ideas,  opinions,  and  usages,  common  to  them,  totally 
inexplicable.  They  extend  even  to  Abyssinia,  where  the  death- 
wail,  and  many  other  usages,  are  similar  to  the  Irish,  and  both 
are  unquestionably  derived  from  the  far  east.  If  the  westward 
migration  of  these  Hindoo  Ethiop  tribes  were  traced  to  its 
origin,  we  might  refer  one  of  them  as  a  likely  consequence  of 

Tripasson,  Trivelorc,  to  Trivalere,  on  the   north  of  Madras,  all  in  the 
Camatic,  and  Trincomallee,  Tricoville,  Tiriach,  &c.,  in  Ceylon. 

*  The  same  as  Triemathur,  on  the  north,  Pendoran  of  the  British,  and 
even  Taregatanga  of  the  Peruvians. 

29* 


342  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

the  severe  civil  war  tvherein  a  part  of  the  Pandoos  were 
worsted.  Colonel  Todd,  in  his  Rajahstan,  points  out  the  plains 
of  Caggar  and  Surawati,  where  the  decisive  conflicts  took  place, 
when  the  fifty-six  Yadhu  tribes  were  at  length  broken,  and 
departed  with  Ardjoon  and  Bhima  to  unknown  regions.  We 
find,  in  other  mythical  tales,  the  Asuras  or  Ashurs*  eminently 
religious  and  virtuous,  according  to  the  doctrines  of  the  Yedas, 
and  therefore  invincible,  even  by  their  gods,  till  the  jealousy  of 
Vishnou  suggests  the  expedient  of  preaching,  in  the  form  of 
Budha,  tenets  still  more  humane;  which,  being  adopted  by  the 
Asuras,  causes  them  to  fall  from  the  true  religion ;  thence 
become  liable  to  defeat,  and  accordingly  they  are  vanquished; 
that  is,  the  Brahman  interest  caused  a  religious  war  against 
the  Budha  doctrines,  admitted  to  be  more  humane  than  the 
Vedanta  ;  a  fact  well  known  to  be  historical,  though  here 
clothed  in  a  mythic  garb.  Although  the  Asuras  cannot  be 
mistaken  for  Assyrians,  they  may,  nevertheless,  have  been 
original  Hasaures,  Asii  or  Arii,  the  Indo-Germans  of  history; 
for  these  have  figured  in  northern  India  for  many  ages,  some- 
times being  taken  for  Indo-Scythians,  at  others  for  Hyatili ; 
and  it  was  probably  this  last  swarm  of  invaders  which  de- 
stroyed the  city  of  Valhabi  in  Gujrat,  about  the  year  524  of 
our  era.  The  ravages  of  conquest,  ended  in  this  latter  case, 
were  of  temporary  influence.  The  Rajpoots  and  Catties 
(Cutheei),  who  were  themselves  only  predecessors  of  the  Indo- 
Scythae  in  the  north-west  of  India,  recovered  their  power  on 
the  east  side  of  the  Indus,  and  still  show  the  blood  of  High 
Asia  in  their  stature  and  color,  even  to  the  extent  of  gray  eyes 
and  light-colored  hair,  observable  in  some  families;  though,  in 
general,  they  have  high  Arab  or  rather  Hebrew  features.     Per- 

*  Here  the  Asi  are  admitted  to  be  wise  and  virtuous.  They  came  from 
the  same  region  as  the  Bahlika  priesthood  ;  were  terrible  in  war,  typified 
by  their  monster  heads,  and  were,  perhaps,  the  Arai  or  Mahratta  colonists. 
The  Asuras  were  sons  of  Diti,  wife  of  Kasyapa  ;  w-hich  again  gives  a 
mountain  origin  to  these  Titans. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  343 

haps  the  Sixth  Avatar,  where  it  is  related  that  Vishnou,  in  the 
form  of  Parasha  Rama,  destroyed  the  Chetrie,  Xeterie,  or 
warrior  caste,  may  signify  that  the  Arkite  Pandoo  States  were 
ahle  to  defeat  the  Rajpoots  in  their  endeavors  to  penetrate  into 
southern  India. 

Soon  after  the  period  of  Alexander's  invasion,  further  dis- 
Kations  took  place  ;  a  portion  of  the  Cuthai  (Cathai),  however, 
remained,  but  the  Malli,  it  seems,  were  already  driven  to  the 
southern  Ghauts,  probably  by  Arachosian  or  Affghan  conquer- 
ors, who,  for  many  ages,  held  sway  from  the  sources  of  the 
Cophis  or  Cabul  river,  across  the  Indus,  to  the  Hyphasis  or 
Sutlej,  and  caused  the  Indian  empire  to  be  regarded  as  extend- 
ing westward  to  the  confines  of  Persia.  Most  of  the  tribes, 
whose  names  occur  in  the  histories  of  Alexander,  and  that  can 
now  be  deciphered  in  Indian  geography,  are  no  longer  in  the 
plains,  but  form  clans  in  the  mountains. 

The  variously  mixed  races  from  the  north-west  and  north- 
east, with  the  aboriginal  Papua  tribes,  can  be  traced  by  the 
deepening  color  of  their  skins  towards  the  south,  and  by  the 
greater  remains  of  true  Papua  features,  taking  into  account 
anomalies  of  circumstances.  It  is  so,  likewise,  with  the  influx 
of  Sanscrit;  becoming  less  prominent  in  the  south,  where  Pali 
prevails,  and  it  is  also  marked  by  the  Brahmanic  system  of 
religion,  the  Vedanta  creed  becoming  more  and  more  modified 
by  other  idolatries,  and  by  the  Budha  doctrines  taking  refuge 
in  Ceylon,  where  it  appears  to  have  incorporated  a  whole  native 
detnonolatry.  This  last  religious  institution  was,  with  its  Naga 
worship,  no  doubt,  established  during  the  period  when  the 
peninsula  of  India  was  still  in  the  power  of  the  Papua  tribes, 
and  was  sufficiently  exciting  to  have  been  carried  westward, 
not  only  by  migrating  Negroes,  but  also  by  the  Ethiopic  Stem, 
by  Mongols,  and  even  Gomerians,  in  their  progress  to  Europe. 
India  being  at  that  early  period  a  scene  of  conflict,  the  invaders 
found  sovereignties  either  already  established,  or  formed  them 
by  degrees,  as   their  irruptions  became   permanent.     In  the 


344  NATURAL    HISTORY    Of 

north-oast,  the  Euro-Caucasians   i  I  on  the  left  of  the 

ite  of  Tirhut;  Canya  Cubja  occupied  the  uppei 
pans  of  the  river.  Sereswati,  the  present  Punjaub  and  (Jtkala 
contained  the  greater  part  of  B  On  the  south  and 

there  arose  G-ujara,  Rushtra,  or  Gujrat,  Patala  on  I 
Indus,  with  other  kingdoms  already  named.     K  \,  fur- 

ther to  the  south,  Mura,  or  king  lom  of  Mabrustra,  now  Mah- 
ratta  Stai  !.  p  rhaps,  by  Arii  or  Arai,  in  the  centre, 

with  the  Dekhan  and  Kanara,  on  the  extreme  point  of  the 
peninsula.  But  sanguinary  and  protracted  wars  alone  permit- 
ted the  white  races  to  become  dominant  and  to  effect  a  gradual 
intermixture. 

War-,  producing  total  subjugation,  by  one  race  over  another, 
the  character  ol  extermination;  they  necessitate  the  wi 
party  to  Beek  safety  in  flight  and  migration  :  nor  is  the  result 
very  different  where  the  races  are  already  partially  interna 
for  then  a  ruling  caste,  descended  from  the  last  victors,  is  driven 
to  the  same  course,  or  to  total  loss  of  all  supremacy,  unless  the 
chances  of  the  conflict  are  sufficiently  chequered  to  cause  the  ear- 
lier and  later  invaders  to  coalesce  by  compromise.  Now,  if  the 
Pandoo  heroes,  with  Ardjoon  and  Bhima  at  their  head,  departed 
after  the  defeat  of  the  Yadhu  tribes,  there  is  little  doubt  that 
the  direction  of  their  retreat  was  -westward,  and  constituted 
one  of  those  migrations  of  the  Asiatic  Ethiop  race,  which  was 
afterwards  conspicuous  in  southern  Persia,  as  a  portion  of  the 
so-called  Indo-Arabs,  who  were  ultimately  driven  from  Yemen, 
and  passed  to  Abyssinia,  or  formed  the  Cushite  people  of  Afri- 
can Ethiopia.*     Tribes  of  this  class  were  most  assuredly  the 

*  If  IS'imrod,  as  is  asserted,  was  a  Cuthite  king,  ruling  from  the  first 
in  Assyria,  the  Babel  which  preceded  Babylon  was  a  city  of  Ethiopians, 
with  Caucasian  or  Finnic  rulers,  probably  the  Gaurs,  who  seem  to  lie  iden- 
tical with  the  Gordei,  who  may  still  be  represented  by  the  Coords  of  the 
present  day.  Nineveh,  &c,  were  capitals  of  northern  districts,  but  the 
resident  population,  between  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates,  was  Ethiopian  ; 
since  Mesopotamia,  now  Djezirat,  was  encompassed  by  the  river.  This  cir- 
cumstance, and  the  swarthy  Colchians  of  Herodotus,  gives  the  northern 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  345 

element  which  formed  the  Aurite  population  of  Upper  Egypt, 
for  they  still  retain  peculiarities  of  structure  observed  in  the 
present  Malabars.*  Others,  less  swarthy,  were  colonists  of 
Lower  Egypt,  constituting-  the  Misr  population,  of  whose 
progress  we  have  already  adduced  proofs,  by  the  plants  and 
animals  which  they  could  not  have  possessed,  but  by  depart- 
ing  originally  from  High  Asia,  and,  subsequently,  from  the 
vicinity  of  the  upper  Indus  ;  and  the  further  progress  they 
made  is  likewise  to  be  traced  by  the  symbolical  lions  in  their 
sculptures  being  invariably  maneless  ;  a  character  which  marks 
\he  variety  of  that  formidable  animal  existing  only  in  the 
southern  portions  of  ancient  Sindh,  Persia  and  Arabia;  while 
the  typical  species,  if  the  symbol  had  been  adopted  from  the 
African,  would  most  assuredly  have  been  figured  with  a  huge 
mane. 

Some  hordes  had  preceded  them  across  the  Nile,  to  form 
a  portion  of  the  Mauri tanian  and  Nubian  populations,  which, 
we  have  already  shown,  were  in  part  driven  by  the  Arabs,  at 
a  later  period,  across  the  Sahara,  to  commix  with  the  Negroes 
on  the  Gambia,  and  are  now  Poulas,  JalofTs,  and  Mandingos. 
Others  departing  by  sea,  probably  from  Ceylon,  reached  as  far 
as  Madagascar,  where  they  found  already  the  Ompizce  canni- 
bals, while  they  formed  themselves  the  tribes  of  black  Malgash 
Voalzis,  Ondeva  of  the  present  time.  These  were  followed 
by  Semitic  clans  of  Indo-Arabs,  whose  kindred  we  have  seen 
in  the  Australian  Islands,  and  who,  on  the  shores  of 'eastern 
Africa,  commenced,  under  the  names  of  Joasmees  and  Jacal- 
vas,  the  same  profession  of  pirates.  These,  in  common  with 
the  Habesh,  influenced  the  whole  of  the  south  with   opinions 

limit  of  the  Ethiopian  extension,  that  is,  as  far  as  the  boundaries  of  the 
date  tree  and  the  habitation  of  the  ostrich. 

*  Among  others  the  large  eyes  and  long  legs,  which  may  be  the  origin 
of  the  legend  of  the  Mucroceli,  Tala-gangha,  a  tribe  of  ancient  India  ; 
but  we  think  the  present  Catties  of  Kutch  are  descended  from  conquering 
Cathai  of  High  Asia,  giving  the  name,  and  forming  the  master  tribe  of 
the  original  Papua  Aurites  along  the  coast. 


346  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

and  parts  of  speerh;  and  they  modified  the  characteristic  dis 
tinctiona  of  the  Negro  people  within  contact,  as  is  evident  in 
the  Caffre  and  Galla  nations. 

There  remain  now  only  a  few  more  remarks  to  make  on  the 
Ethiopic  tribes  in  primeval  Arachosia,  Aria,  and  Syria,  Bimi- 
larly  originating  in  commixture  between  Arab  or  Melanic  Cau- 
casians and  Papua  races.  They  are  traceable  by  the  denomi- 
nations of  Nimreks,  Dombuks,  and  Kakasiah —  the  black 
brethren  of  ancient  legends:  and  the  antiquity  of  occupation 
in  Western  Asia  is  attested  by  the  same  documents  ;  for 
races  are  stated  in  Arabian  lore  to  be  pre-Adamite,  and  the 
localities  they  held  at  one  time  are  perhaps  marked  by  th 
dence  of  the  black  giant,  Sukrage,  one  of  the  seventy-two  Sul- 
tauns  who  reigned  in  Kaf  before  Argenk,  another  giant  of 
tradition.  Kaf,*  an  Arabian  name  for  the  great  central  table 
land  of  A>ia.  is  here  referred  to  a  particular  locality,  perhaps 
the  chain  of  Deroavend,  or  one  of  the  several  peaks  bearing 
the  name  of  Alburs,  or,  rather,  Kohi-Baba,  where  Argenk's 
palace  is  described  to  have  been  adorned  with  statues  of  mon- 
sters, endowed  with  reason,  "  such  as  existed  in  former  crea- 
tions."    There  were  pictures  upon  the  walls  relating  to  those 

*  Neither  Kondemirnor  Mirkhond  are  the  inventors  of  these  traditions  ; 
for  Kaf  was,  in  Arabian  lore,  a  mountain,  "  enclosed  like  a  ring  surround- 
ing a  finger,"  and  "  the  sun  rose  and  set  from  Kaf  to  Kaf."  It  denotes 
the  high  land  of  Asia.  The  Sakrat  hinge  of  the  world  is  Himalaya,  and 
was  the  region  wherein  the  deeve  bird  Simurg  or  Simorganka  tells  Temu- 
rah  he  had  served  forty  Sultauns,  his  predecessors,  and  had  seen  the  crea- 
tion renewed  seven  times.  Kaf,  when  particularized  in  the  Shah  Nameh, 
is  evidentlv  Kohibaba,  which,  with  its  two  passes,  was  best  known  among 
the  elevated  peaks  on  the  western  front  of  the  great  plateau  ;  and  there  it 
appears  Zohauk  is  likewise  fabled  to  have  had  his  fastness,  though  another 
of  the  name  is  placed  in  the  middle  of  Lake  Zurrah. 

The  number  of  seventy-two  Sultauns,  compared  with  the  forty  Solimans, 
indicate  the  priority  of  residence  in  easternmost  P?rsia  to  have  been  on 
the  side  of  the  sable  races.  According  to  Arabian  notions  of  geogranhy, 
Kohi-Kaf  is  situated  between  the  habitations  of  Iran  and  Ginnistan. 

"  Taric  TebrL"     See  also  "  d'Herbelot,  in  voce  Soliman  ben  Daoud." 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  347 

times,  poetical  embellishments  in  the  legend,  which,  since  the 
late  discoveries  in  the  ruins  of  Nineveh,  show  that  the  narra- 
tions are  drawn  from  buildings  adorned  with  Andro-Sphinxes 
Sirens,  and  Taurine  monsters,  similar  to  those  of  Persepolis 
The  locality  may  even  be  much  more  towards  the  north  and 
east,  since  a  sculptured  sphinx  has  been  discovered  about  the 
Altaic  gold  mines,  and  similar  objects  are  frequent  in  the 
ruins  of  ancient  cities  about  the  river  Amour,  in  Chinese  Tar- 
tary.  The  name  of  Temendoun,  a  giant  with  one  hundred 
arms,  defeated  by  Kayomurs,  first  king  of  Persia,  but  who 
escaped  and  fled  to  Oman,  in  Arabia;  one  more,  named  An- 
thalous  (Antaeus),  with  a  thousand  arms,  who  was  captured 
and  sentenced  to  death  by  Solitnan  Ben  Hakki,  who  could 
never  accomplish  his  decree,  indicate  that  they  are  rem 
cences  of  ancient  legends,  notwithstanding  the  evident  plagia- 
risms from  Greek  fables  and  Hindoo  relations,  and  that  the 
color,  the  direction  of  the  flight,  and  the  indestructible  charac- 
ter of  these  enemies,  whose  many  arms  imply  the  strength  of 
their  forces,  and  the  region  and  antiquity  of  their  occurrence. 
They  are,  moreover,  countenanced  by  others,  such  as  the  ante- 
diluvian sovereigns  Mahabad,  "Father  of  mankind;"  Biurasp, 
"  King  before  the  flood  ;"  and  Gilshah,  "  The  first  man  ;" 
all  mythical  records  of  the  first  Caucasian  invasions  from  the 
high  lands,  and  the  wars  they  waged  upon  the  black  popula- 
tions in  possession  of  the  land.  If  the  relation  of  Herodotus 
can  be  admitted,  they  were  in  his  time  not  quite  extinct  in  Col- 
chis. The  evidence  of  their  blood  remains  marked  in  the 
present  Bedoueen  Arabs;  it  was  unquestionable  in  the  race  of 
Ham  in  Chaldea  and  Syria  ;  in  the  Ethiopia  of  southern  Per- 
sia, Persis,  Chusistan,  and  Susiana;  in  Arabia  Deserta,  from 
the  southern  coasts  of  the  Indus  to  the  Straits  of  Bab-el-Man- 
deb,  and  in  Upper  Egypt  to  Nubia  and  Cordofan. 

The  Shah  Nameh  furnishes  traces  of  their  wars  with  the 
Iranians,  and  Asiatic  Ethiopians  are  historically  noticed  in  the 
'ime  of  Xerxes.     The  whole  region   from  Hindostan  to  Lybia, 


348  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

was  anciently,  and  even  is  now  by  Orientals,  frequently  denomi- 
nated India.  Like  their  ancestors,  the  population  still  forms 
a  mixed  race,  having  in  general  ruling  families  of  a  white 
origin;  sometimes  named  Getae  (Goth)  ,  Gern  anii  oi  Kerman- 

shah.     Strabo  (lib.  vii.)  makes  Pyrebestas  (Abu  Rebbia)  rule 
the  Getae.     Ammianus  calls  Arabia  the  desert  of  the  G 
and  the  Beni-Ghour  (children  of  the  swamp)  are  still  regarded 
as  a  fair  race,  descended  from  that  stock. 

It  is  in  tb is  territory,  and  adjoining  E^ypt,  that  in  the  ear- 
liest antiquity  a  very  considerable  civilization  is  detected, 
because  the  confluence  of  nations  moving  westward  obliged 
concentration  at  the  isthmus,  in  order  to  reach  the  lower  Nile, 
and  in  this  manner  they  became  conversant  with  each  other's 
discoveries  in  the  arts  of  life,  and  saw  the  dawn  of  commerce 
opening  by  the  mariners  of  Sidon. 

Whether  the  Imilikon,  or  Amalekites,  were  of  the  same 
mixed  stem,  does  not  clearly  appear;  but  that  the  Phoenicians, 
Punes,  Fynes,  so  far  as  the  master  tribes  are  concerned,  were 
Finns,  is  exceedingly  probable,  since  a  red-haired  race  neces- 
sarily must  have  come  from  the  northern  parts  of  Asia  ;  and 
if  the  language  they  spoke  was  in  the  historical  era  almost  a 
pure  Hebrew,  the  cause  is  easily  discovered,  since  a  white  com- 
munity, of  no  great  strength,  had  gradually  increased  to  a 
series  of  cities,  whereof  the  vast  superiority  of  inhabitants  were 
Semitics  and  southern  strangers,  who,  from  the  period  of  the 
first  conquest  of  Phoenicia,  acquired  political  power;  whereas, 
until  then,  they  had  perhaps  only  possessed  a  certain  preemi- 
nence in  the  refinements  of  civilization.  The  Phoenician  power 
was  long  settled  before  the  arrival  of  the  Hebrews  in  Pales- 
tine, and  it  was  not  regarded  by  them  in  the  same  light  as  the 
upland  tribes  of  Canaan,  since  political  and  commercial  alli- 
ance, and  permanent  peace,  existed  between  the  two  states ; 
conditions  which  could  not  have  been  maintained  if  the  Punic 
race  had  not  been  of  a  very  distinct  origin  from  the  Canaan- 
ite. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  349 


EGYPT. 

If  the  isthmus  of  the  Red  Sea  was  already  closed  on  the 
Mediterranean  side,  when  the  first  human  population  came  to 
the  western  shores  of  Asia,  it  may  be  assumed  that  the  delta 
of  the  Nile  was  not  yet  so  consolidated  as  to  offer  any  firm 
footing  beyond  the  sands  on  the  beach  ;  while  the  marshy 
fens  within  them  were,  as  yet,  only  beginning  to  form  the  pres- 
ent lower  province.  Gradually  the  valley  was  occupied,  from 
the  head  of  the  first  bifurcation  of  the  river,  up  to  the  cataracts, 
by  a  population  of  very  distinct  origin,  cemented  together  by 
causes  not  now  accessible  to  investigation  ;  for  here  three 
nations,  at  least,  adopted  the  same  system  of  civilization,  and 
amalgamated  together  from  different  sources  of  migration, 
elaborating  a  state  religion,  and  peculiar  social  institutions, 
whatever  difference  there  might  be  else  in  tribal  speech  and 
local  doctrines.  The  oldest  of  these  nations  had  been  pushed 
up  the  river  by  succeeding  immigrations,  and  was  of  true 
Ethiopie  character,  Indo-Arab,  deb  or  black,  and  since  known 
by  the  names  of  Aurites,  or  Abarites.  It  was  apparently  com- 
posed of  tribes  expelled  the  coast  of  Malabar,  and  distinguished 
b\*  the  more  elevated  position  of  the  ears,  by  large  dark  eyes, 
strong  curly  hair,  long  legs,  thick  lips,  and  very  swarthy  color: 
the  second,  a  brown  race,  with  lank  hair,  were  the  Misr,  or 
Mestrai  (Misraim  of  antiquity),  said  to  have  been  led  by  Masr ; 
but  all  these  names  indicate  a  mixed  race,  which  both  were ; 
and  the  third,  governed  by  a  fairer  high-featured  tribe  of  real 
Caucasians,  were  most  likely  the  last  comers,  and  in  part  a 
privileged  body  of  conquerors  ;  they  were,  collectively,  the 
Gouptas,  Koptos,  said  to  have  followed  the  mythological 
Menes,*  who  first  nestled  in  the  marshes  of  the  delta,  and 

*  Menes,  the  same  as  Mauu,  who  binds  the  ark  to  the  peak  of  Hima- 
vahn  ;  and  Meru,  whose  holy  mountain  was  west  of  Cabul,  near  Bamean, 
and  ancestor  of  Rama  ;  but  it  may  be  a  name  for  Joktan. 

30 


350  XATIKAL    HI8T0RI    Mf 

most  likely  came  by  sea  from  Asia  .Minor.  They  obtained 
and  kept  the  ruling  power,  the  Pharaonic  crown  and  ; 
hood,  for  ages,  in  their  hands,  although  they  were  neither  the 
authors  of  the  civilization,  nor  of  the  religious  doctrines  of  the 
land.  The  enormous  army,  with  excessive  privileges,  main- 
tained by  the  state,  and  forces  often  called  in  from  abroad 
warrant  this  opinion.  The  conjecture  is  strengthened  by  the 
prohibition  the  government  gave  to  all  marine  enterprise  on 
the  Red  Sea,  and  the  early  and  long  continuance  of  suprem- 
acy it  exercised  over  Syria;  and,  finally,  by  the  reminiscence 
of  hostilities  in  High  Asia,  which  prompted  the  greatest  of  the 
nan  kings  to  make  repeated  inroads  as  far  as  Baetiia, 
though  ever  with  ephemeral  results.  At  length  the  sceptre 
passed  from  them  to  the  Cushites,  who,  in  time,  were  again 
subdued  by  new  hordes  of  High  Asia  ;  while  the  Cushite  nation 
secured  the  coast  of  Abyssinia,  Nubia,  and  Egypt,  up  to  the 
Port  of  Aphrodite;  this  was  the  Ethiopia  of  Africa,  Thosh,  or 
Etaush,  and  Kush,  still  called  Kish  in  the  country.  Both  the 
Cushite  and  Aarite  people  had  Caucasian  or  white  chiefs,  since, 
even  at  this  day,  Dongola  women  are  prized,  because  they  are 
comparatively  fair.  Leaders,  like  the  expelled  Pandoos,  led 
them,  by  coasting,  till  they  crossed  over  from  the  Arabian  side 
to  the  Egyptian.  Coming  from  the  Indus,  the  Aurites  ascended 
still  higher,  to  the  head  of  the  Red  Sea,  as  we  are  expressly 
told  by  Syncellus.  They  passed  by  the  Wadi  Sendeli,  still 
named  Derb-Tuarikh,  and  thence  spread  from  Memphis  to 
Thebes;  for,  had  th<ybeen  mere  wanderers  through  deserts, 
their  gods,  in  after  ages,  would  not  have  been  invariably  placed 
in  boats,  nor  would  there  have  been,  annually,  a  festival,  when 
these  idols  were  sent  from  below  to  visit  others  up  the  river,  in 
splendid  barges.*'     The  origin  of  such  a  ceremony  could  only 

*  Diluvian  records  abound  with  all  the  Caucasian  and  cognate  races. 
There  are,  probably,  more  than  one  hundred  fabulous  legends,  religious 
and  mythical,  where  the  patriarch  and  his  family  arc  designated  under 
different  names,  circumstances,  and  localities.     Even  in  Palestine, 


THE   HITMAN    SPECIES.  351 

be  derived  from  a  commemoration  of  their  first  landing-,  or 
their  original  departure  from  the  east,  confounded  with  a 
diluvian  tradition;  notwithstanding,  that  record  is  so  deep 
rooted,  that,  even  to  this  day,  in  Arabia,  the  Arabs  do  not  call 
out  an  army,  where  many  tribes  are  collected,  without  bearing 
at  the  head  of  it  a  reminiscence  of  the  ark,  in  the  shape  of  a 
wooden  frame,  placed  on  the  back  of  a  strong  camel,  and 
adorned  with  ostrich  feathers,  which  they  call  Merkeb  (the 
ship). 

The  styles  of  sculpture,  architecture,  and  excavation,  not- 
withstanding the  remote  period  of  their  origin,  have  more 
affinity  to  the  Bactrian  Hindoo  than  to  any  other  colossal, 
ponderous  detail ;  such  as  a  compound  of  what  remains  of 
Nineveh  and  the  earliest  cavern  temples  would  produce, 
showing  traces  of  the  natural  development  of  art,  when  work- 
ing upon  the  same  kind  of  materials  with  similar  means.  The 
statues  retain  the  normal  pillar  form  in  all ;  but  the  parts  of 
architectural  combination  advanced  beyond  mere  excavation, 
as  it  still  was  in  the  most  ancient  cavern  temples  of  India  ;  not 
so  complete  and  less  appropriate  than  the  Egyptian,  indicating 
an  older  date,  though  it  was  wielded  in  both  regions  by  sacer- 
dotal supremacies  over  great  populations.  The  system  of  wor- 
ship in  Egypt  was  likewise  allied  to  the  Indian,  though  both, 
no  doubt,  had  their  revolutions,  innovations,  and  successive 
incorporations  of  foreign  elements.  British  sepoys,  forming 
part  of  the  expedition  that  was  to  cooperate  with  General  Sir 
Ralph  Abercrombie  in  the  re-conquest  of  Egypt,  no  sooner 
entered  the  ancient  temples  in  the  valley  of  the  Nile,  than 
they  asserted  their  own  divinities  were  discovered  on  the 
walls,  and  worshipped  them  accordingly.     They  even  pointed 

were  four  or  five,  all  greatly  distorted  from  the  true  narrative  in  the  Pen- 
tateuch. One  or  other  of  these  Indian  migrators  revived  the  Neel  of 
India  in  the  Nile  of  Africa;  for,  unless  the  notion  had  begun  in  E^ypt, 
all  antiquity,  to  the  time  of  Alexander,  would  not  have  been  led  to  believe 
that  the  African  stream  had  its  source  in  India. 


852  NATl  RA1    MOTOR!    01 

out  the  Cresvaminam,  or  Brahmin  distinguishing  cord,  as  like- 
oration  of  the  painted  divini 

Few  traces  of  Ajamean  or  Japetian  I  ■  percepti- 

ble in  the  constituents  of  the  an  rptian  and  mo 

Copthic.     The  Hebrew  and  Arabic  tivelyofi 

introduction.    Originally  the  Egyptian  form  llabic, 

essentially  different  from  both,  though  the  Canaanite  nations 
of  the  same  stock  Bpoke  a  dialect  of  Chaldee,  which  in  itself 
mi  •  'nt  tongue,  and  might  have  been  pre- 
ceded in  Syria  by  a  different  form,  as  it  was  subsequently 

i  by  others,  since  geographical  localities  of  ancient  Pales- 
tine \\  intly  indicated  by  two  very  different  denomina- 
tions. The  Egyptian,  no  doubt,  consisted  of  a  sacn  I 
one  which  was  used  in  all  written  docu  red  and  legal, 
while  very  diverging  forms  of  speech  belonged  to  different  parts 
of  the  kingdom.  There  was,  particularly,  one  in  the  Delta, 
another  in  Upper  Egypt,  and  most  likely  the  Cuthic  above  the 
cataracts.  Uch  and  Pharaoth,  the  most  ancient  words  for  king, 
may  nevertheless  be  both  epithets,  the  first  denoting  high, 
eminent  ;*  and  the  second,  a  mutation  of  Phre  or  Phra,  recurs 
in  the  Pelhevic  proper  names  of  ancient  Persia,  where  it  desig- 
nates command  or  leadership;  while  in  Egypt  the  same  word 
seems  to  have  been  appropriated  to  the  sun,  to  exaltation  and 
beauty,  in  which  sense  it  is  equivalent  to  the  Theotisk  Frai, 
Norsk  Fager,  handsome.  Goshen  or  Goshan,  in  Egypt,  and 
Gauzan  in  Mesopotamia,  do  not  denote  a  temple  of  the  sun, 
but  literally  the  cow-land,  the  cattle-country. 

The  Delta  was  most  probably  designated  in  Egyptian  by  the 
name  of  Rab,  since  in  Hebrew  it  was  called  Rahab.  For  ages 
it  gave  shelter  to  pirates  and  roving  clans,  which,  when  they 
had  remained  fixed  during  a  certain  period,  had  no  means  of 

*  Uch.  See  Manetho.  It  may  be  remarked,  that  there  was  a  tribe  of 
Uchii  east  of  Persis  proper,  and  that  it  was,  according  to  Volaterauus, 
from  among  this  people  the  gypsey  tribes  first  came  forth.  Uchii  were, 
therefore.  Highlanders. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  353 

resuming'  their  marine  course  of  life,  because  wood  for  rafts 
and  vessels  was  always  scarce  or  wanting,  the  tall  reeds  and 
lushes  suffering  none  except  the  palm-tree  to  flourish.  This 
was  the  cause,  it  may  be  believed,  why  the  Kapthorim,  after 
leaving  Kapthor  or  Cappadocia,  wandering  onwards  by  Rhodes, 
Crete,  and  Cyprus,  till  they  rested  for  a  period  in  the  Tanitic 
arm  of  the  Nile,  were  obliged  to  migrate  by  land  to  Palestine. 
There  were  also  the  Sinim  and  Phoenicians  in  the  western 
arm,  and  Greelc  adventurers  on  the  bank  near  Damietta; 
others,  most  likely,  were  absorbed  in  the  Egyptian   | 

I  onward  to  the  w  S  peral  of  these  tribes  are,  by 

classical  authorities,   placed    in  connection   with    the    Hyper- 
boreans, or  rather  the  Finnic  races,  a  branch  of  which   may 
have  been  the  Hyksos  (or  Shepherds),  with  the  more  proba- 
bility, as  the  earliest  Armenian   language  is  known  to  have 
contained  a  great  proportion  of  word-  belonging  to  that  stem  of 
nations,  and  the  Armenian  people  were  styled  Haikos  or  Ilaik 
wearers,  which  is  the  same  as  Hyksos.     They  are  even  i 
to  be  the  Bame  as  the  Cathai,  Beni  Kous,  who  may  have 
the  Kufa  of  High   Asia  opposed  to  Sesostris,  the  fair-haired 
nation   of    the    ancienl    Arabian    records,   and    the    pr 
Nesearies  of  the   hills;  so  early  were  the   invasions  from   the 
north-east   towards    Egypt,  and   so   confused   become   nations 
when  the  ruling  tribe  and  the  masses  arc  of  different  typical 
forms. 

Above  the   Egyptian  races,  the   Nubian,  Nuba,  or  swarthy 

lite  people,  were  fixed  at  a  remote  age,  though  Syncellus 
and  their  own  traditions  represent  them  to  be  colonists  from 
the  banks  of  the  Indus;  and  the  claim  is  countenanced  by  the 
local  names  of  Kuteh,  Gujerat,  Cattywar,  provinces  on  the 
east  side  of  the  present  delta  of  the  river;  and  the  circum- 
stance, that  the  Abyssinian  kings  were,  and  still  are,  styled 

as,  while  in  the  most  ancient  kingdoms  of  the  delta  of  the 
Indus  or  Neel,  denominated  Patala,  the  Naga  or  Serpent  was 
venerated  in  the  capital  Nagara,  and  the  people  were  Nagas 
30* 


354  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

Tribes  of  Cushites  had  fought  their  way  by  sea  or  by  land, 
and  formed  a  great  power  in  Arabia  Felix,  till  the  present 
Arabians  compelled  them  to  cross  the  straits  of  Bab-el-Alandeb. 
They  returned,  however,  more  than  once,  to  hold  dominion 
in  Yemen,  carrying  the  first  coffee-plant  with  them  from 
Africa,  and  continuing  to  hold  up  the  commercial  prosperity  of 
the  country  to  the  time  of  the  Hegira.  Since  the  decline  of 
the  Abyssinian  empire,  subordinate  kings  still  retain  the 
ancient  title;  such,  for  instance,  as  that  of  Bahar  Negash,  or 
king  of  the  plain,  &c*  The  Nubian  people  are  of  the  same 
origin,  mixed  with  Arabs  of  the  Rebiah  tribe  about  Ibrim,  and 
more  pure  from  thence  to  Tinareh  in  the  hills.  It  was  from 
this  region  (Etaush)  that  queens,  denominated  Candace,  became 
historical  personages;!  and  the  case  of  the  eunuch  baptized 
by  the  apostle  Philip,  shows  that  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  were 
studied  before  the  advent,  even  as  far  up  as  Abyssinia,  and 
that  persons  of  the  progeny  of  Ham  came  up  to  Jerusalem  to 
worship. 

To  trust  solely  in  the  linguistic  character  of  nations,  where 
slaver)',  polygamy,  and  where  barter  and  violence  alike  daily 
interchange  crowds  of  captives,  is  at  best  unsafe ;  all  unwritten 
dialects,  and  even  permanent  nationality,  become  dubious ; 
consequently  manners  are  greatly  varied  with  the  circum- 
stances of  existence. 

*  Apophis,  supposed  to  be  the  Pharaoh  visited  by  Abraham,  may  have 
been  a  Naga  king  in  Lower  Egypt,  as  his  name  is  synonymous  with 
Python.  If  he  were  the  Apophis  slain  by  Horus,  we  would  have  an 
approximate  date  for  the  known  system  of  Egyptian  religion. 

t  Candace  does  not  appear  to  have  been  a  proper  name,  but  a  title,  per- 
haps a  mutation  of  Khan  or  Kong.  In  that  case,  Thosh  or  Taush  would 
denote  tusk.  Etaush,  the  land  of  ivory,  which  would  again  indicate  the 
ruling  power  to  have  originated  in  a  northern  or  high  mountain  race  of 
conquerors. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  355 


THE   ATLANTICS   OR   BERBERS. 

On  th  i  north  of  Africa  many  wanderers  landed  from  the  sea, 
and  migrators  from  the  valley  of  the  Nile  were  pushed  onwards 
over  the  Nubian  high  land. 


THE   NUMIDIANS. 

One  of  these  seems  to  have  reached  that  region  rather 
late,  if  they  already  possessed  horses  at  the  time  of  their 
arrival  and  were  the  Numidians  of  Roman  history,  cele- 
brated for  the  small  and  active  horses  which  the  warriors 
rode  without  saddle  or  bridle,  guiding  them  with  a  rod, 
or  at  best  with  a  rope  passed  round  the  lower  jaw.  But 
we  take  them  to  have  been  a  distinct  and  later  invasion, 
and  sufficiently  evanescent  to  have  passed  away  into  Negro 
tribes,  since  the  supremacy  of  the  Arabians  became  estab- 
lished. 


THE   AMAZIGH, 

Or  Berbers,  properly  so  called,  extending  from  the  Nile  to 
the  Atlantic,  are  now,  under  the  name  of  Shelluhs,  most 
numerous  in  the  glens  of  Atlas,  where  they  occupy  villages  in 
the  south  and  east  of  Morocco,  with  habits  not  totally  lawless 
nor  inhospitable.  But  several  of  the  tribes  differ  greatly  from 
them,  such  as  the  Errifi  of  the  province  of  Rif,  who  are  among 
the  most  ferocious  of  human  beings,  and  the  Kabyles,  Koubals, 
tribes  speaking  the  Showiah  language,  which  is  believed  to 
contain  a  considerable  quantity  of  Numidian  roots.  There 
are  other  Berber  tribes,  that  are  miners,  and  manufacturers  of 
gun-powder,  gun-barrels,  knives,  black  soap,  &c.  These  are 
again   referred    to  the   Numidian    people,  passing  gradually 


356  NATUKAL   HISTORY    OF 

into  the  Poulah  and  Jaloffs,  who,  alone  among  the  Negroes, 
have  horses  and  camels. 


THE   SUAKIM. 

East  and  south  of  the  Nile  this  great  stem  seems  to  pass 
into  Suakirn  troglodytes,  who  are  referred  to  the  ancient 
Kahtan  Arabs,  black  by  blood,  which,  if  it  be  correctly  viewed, 
the  filiation  of  this  branch  of  the  Ethiopian  stem  is  marked 
out  from  beyond  the  Indus  to  the  west  coast  of  Morocco. 
To  the  troglodyte  race  belong  the  Ababde,  mistaken  for  Arabs, 
though  they  have  the  Negro  mouth  and  color,  occupying  a 
great  space  between  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Nile.  They  are 
conductors  of  caravans  from  Sennaar,  and  spoken  of  with 
approbation. 

The  Gomera,  a  relic  of  an  almost  extinct  and  unknown 
people,  still  occupy  a  portion  of  the  district  of  Rif  in  Morocco, 
living  in  harmony  with  the  Shelluhs,  and  possibly  descended 
from  those  marine  Celts,  who,  in  early  ages,  came  down  the 
coasts  of  Africa,  where  they  left  the  cairns,  peulvans,  and 
cromlechs,  which  the  Romans  at  more  than  one  place  called 
Philamicm  altars,  particularly  those  found  near  Cyrene,  and  on 
the  salt  lake  ;  and  there  is  another,  distinguished  by  the  name 
of  El-Uted  (the  Peg),  still  existing  on  the  Aguache  river,  in 
Barbary.  It  is  perhaps  also  this  tribe  of  Gomera  who  speak  a 
Celtic  dialect,  said  to  be  still  intelligible  to  Welsh  seamen,  and 
asserted  to  be  likewise  understood  on  the  south-west  coast  of 
Spain  and  Portugal.  They  are  graziers ;  and  it  may  be 
observed,  that,  in  Sanscrit,  Gomed  denotes  an  ox;  Gomera,  in 
this  case,  like  Gwalla  in  Asia,  and  Galla  in  Africa,  being 
denominations  for  oxman,  neatherd. 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  357 


THE   TUARIKHS. 


Though  both  the  Tibboos  and  Tuarikhs  are  nearly  pure 
Caucasians,  we  notice  them  here  on  account  of  the  remote 
antiquity  they  claim,  and  the  thrifty  character  they  bear;  the 
last  mentioned,  in  particular,  are  habitually  engaged  in 
marauding  to  make  slaves  for  sale,  or  in  commercial  transac- 
tions at  annual  fairs,  and  conducting  caravans  to  the  nations 
of  Soudan,  Bornou,  and  Timbuctoo.  The  language  they 
speak  is  not  Arabic,  is  as  yet  little  known,  the  natives  assert- 
ing it  to  be  the  most  ancient  in  the  world.  If  the  Roman 
Numidians  still  retain  a  national  existence,  it  is  perhaps 
among  these  tribes  that  they  should  be  sought.  The  Tibboos, 
residing  in  the  middle  of  Negro  tribes,  between  Fez  and  Bor- 
nou, are  partly  nomads,  hospitable  and  moderate  beyond  all 
other  tenants  of  the  desert. 

We  may  place  here  the  gypsy  tribes,  the  Zingari,  Zigeuner 
of  Germany,  Bohemians  of  the  French,  Karashu  of  Kurdistan, 
who,  notwithstanding  they  speak  a  dialect  of  Hindoostan,  and 
betray  by  their  color  a  positive  intermixture  with  Papua  blood, 
have  nevertheless  the  crania  of  Asiatic  Finns,  and  are  known 
to  have  dwelt  among  the  southernmost  tribes  of  that  stem 
before  they  came  towards  the  west.  As  they  may  have 
detected  Finnic  words  in  the  Cophtic,  since  Klaproth  discovered 
several  in  the  ancient  language  of  Egypt,  there  is  some  reason 
for  the  claim  set  up  by  these  roving  families  for  affinity  with  a 
Nilotic  population,  since  they  have  a  similar  right  to  that  of 
Persia  and  Bokhara,  and  kindred  tribes  are  among  the  wan- 
derers of  Northern  Africa.  They  are,  indeed,  first  observed  to 
have  traversed  portions  of  Southern  Tahtary.  Some  visited 
Armenia,  Syria,  ond  Egypt;  and  others,  about  the  year  1400, 
passed  onwards  through  Poland  to  Bohemia,  and  finally 
extended  to  England  and  Spain. 

We  have  hitherto  shown  how  typical  and  aberrant  races  of 


358  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

man  have  evidently  proceeded  eccentrically  from  the  vicinity 
of  the  table  land  of  I  i  i,  bo  far  as  the  proceeding  ran  he 

traced  by  geographical  necessities,  which  in  most  cases  have 
operated  like  positive  laws,  and  are  corroborated  by  history 
when  human  Bcripta  have  recorded  the  facta.  Let  as  now 
how  the  same  conditions  of  Alan's  primeval  swarming  ran  be 
traced  in  the  greal  Caucasian  type,  of  which  the  eventful 
career  is  so  much  better  known  than  that  of  the  preceding 
races. 


THE  BEARDED,  INTERMEDIATE,  OB  CAUCASIAN  TYPE, 

Is  so  named,  because  neither  of  the  two  other  typical 
forms  is  distinguished  by  a  well-grown  beard.  Intermediate 
form  is  applicable  with  reference  to  the  boreal  and  tropical 
position  of  the  other  types.  The  appellation  of  Caucasian 
remains  likewise  appropriate,  when  understood  to  apply  to  the 
Indian  or  true  Caucasus,  or  Imaus  of  the  ancients,  for  by  these 
names  the  region  of  Hindu-Koosh  and  the  vicinity  must  be 
understood;  and  it  is  to  that  locality  careful  examination  ulti- 
mately traces  the  first  habitation  of  at  least  the  white  races  of 
the  bearded  stock  ;#  for  the  term  white,  though  it  is  in  general 
sufficiently  correct,  is  still  not  quite  admissible  for  the  whole, 
since  the  color  varies  from  pure  white  down  to  melanism 
nearly  as  deep  as  a  genuine  Negro.     Albinism  is  frequent ; 

*  Caucasus  of  Western  Asia  is  a  name  transferred  with  many  others 
from  the  centrsl  region  of  the  a  d  continent.  It  seems  to  be  derived  from 
Koh-Cas,  or  Hindu-Koh,  and  includes,  besides  that  region,  also  Paropa- 
missus,  Emodus  Imaus,  or  Western  Himalaya,  with  numerous  and 
elevated  peaks,  and  the  high  lands  of  the  Arii  or  Asii.  Kohi-Baba,  the 
apparently  highest  point  of  the  whole,  appears  to  be  the  local  Kaf  of 
Arabian  tradition. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  359 

and  both  the  phenomena  of  an  entire  horny  skin  and  of  total 
hirsuteness  seem  to  belong  exclusively  to  the  bearded  type. 

It  being  to  the  form  under  consideration  that  the  tribes  class 
that  have  peopled  Europe  and  Western  Asia  almost  exclu- 
sively, its  typical  characters  are  easily  ascertained.  The 
beard  is  neither  villous  nor  woolly,  but  spreading  over  the  lips, 
"hin,  and  the  whole  of  the  nether  jaw.  It  fringes  the  sides  of 
.lie  face  up  to  the  temples,  and  is  crisp,  curly,  or  undulating, 
jut  never  quite  straight  or  lank,  as  in  the  Mongolian.  The 
skull  is  larger  than  in  the  other  forms ;  it  is  oblong,  rounded, 
with  the  cerebral  portion  more  developed,  containing  from  75 
to  109  cubic  inches;  the  facial  angle  is  more  vertical,  rising 
from  75  degrees  to  nearly  90.  The  face  is  oval,  the  eyes 
large,  open,  horizontal,  the  pupils  passing  from  hazel  or  brown, 
on  one  hand,  to  dark,  nearly  black,  and  on  the  other  to  deep 
blue,  gray,  light  blue,  and  even  greenish  (pink-colored  pupils 
occur  only  in  extreme  cases  of  albinism) ;  the  hair  is  abundant 
on  the  head,  curly,  waving,  or  lank,  varying  in  shades  of  colors 
from  very  deep  brown  to  auburn,  xanthous,  and  fiery  red,  usu- 
ally corresponding,  but  not  always,  to  the  beard  and  eyebrows, 
and  sometimes  from  infancy  marked  with  gray,  which,  in 
advancing  life,  in  both  sexes,  is  sure  to  come  on,  till  the  whole- 
is  turned  white.  In  general,  the  hair  harmonizes  with  the 
ilexion,  which  varies,  in  the  white  races,  from  sallow  to 
ruddy  and  fair.  Health  has  its  influence  on  the  color  of  the 
skin,  in  all  races;  but  in  the  fair  the  cheeks  are  frequently 
colored ;  the  typical  races  have  the  mouth  small,  the  teeth  set 
vertically,  the  lips  not  tumid,  and  more  delicately  graceful  in 
outline;  the  nose  is  more  prominent,  and  the  wings  less  spread 
than  in  the  other  forms  of  man  ;  nor  is  the  nether  jaw  so  angu- 
lar. The  forehead  is  broad,  often  high,  the  occipital  part  less 
developed,  and  the  arch  of  the  cranium  less  solid. 

Man  of  the  bearded  type  attains  the  highest  standard,  is,  in 
general,  above  the  middle  size,  and  in  symmetry  excels  all  the 
others  :  the  a~ms  are  in  better  proportion,  the  hands  more  beau- 


3G0  NATURAL   HISTORY   OP 

tifully  shaped,  and   the  feet  and  toes  more  delicate,  and  more 
obliquely  arranged.     Hia  mo  ive  of  pur- 

ceful ;  the  poise  of  hia  head  places  the  counte- 
nance vertically  to  the  horizon.*  The  should^  mple, 
the  chest  broad,  the  ribs  linn,  and  the  loins  well  turned ;  the 
thighs,  and,  in  particular,  the  calves  of  the  legs,  symmetrical; 
the  whole  frame  constructed  for  the  endurance  of  every  kind  of 
toil,  being  protected  in  some  measure  with  a  partial  growth  of 
hair,  which  is  scarcely  traceahle  in  the  other  types  excepting 
on  the  chest.  Thus  he  is  constructed  with  physical  powers 
equal  to  his  intellectual  organization,  fitted  to  sustain  proti 
thought, — continuous  attention,  alike  excited  hy  an  activity 
of  disposition  stimulating  his  brain,  which  is  larger  and  more 
fully  developed  in  the  anterior  portion  than  in  any  other  form 
of  -Man.  In  the  mere  animal  senses  of  sight,  hearing,  feeling, 
smell,  and  tasting,  the  social  position  of  civilized  nations  may 
render  them,  in  part,  less  quick,  because  they  are  less  called 
into  activity;  but  the  Kaufir  mountaineer  of  Hindu-Koosh,  and 
the  Arab  wanderer,  are,  no  doubt,  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the 
acutest  perception  of  Negro,  American,  or  any  other  wild  race 
in  the  world.  Again,  the  Caucasian  form  of  Man  combines, 
above  the  rest,  strength  of  limb  with  activity  of  motion, 
enabling  it  to  endure  the  greatest  vicissitudes  of  temperature 
in  all  climates,  —  to  emigrate,  colonize,  and  multiply  in  them, 

*  A  weight  being  placed  on  the  head,  such  as  when  a  Dutch  milk-maid 
skates  to  market,  the  heavy  pail  is  so  poised  upon  a  kind  of  pad,  that  it 
bears  equally  on  the  dome  of  the  cranium  ;  so,  also,  is  water  carried  by 
the  abnormal  Egyptian  peasantry.  In  both,  the  weight  rests  on  the  per- 
pendicular axis  of  the  body,  through  the  centre  of  the  skull  ;  whereas,  in 
the  Negro,  weight  on  the  head  is  always  poised  nearer  the  forehead,  and, 
consequently,  the  chin  is  elevated.  With  the  Mongolian  and  American, 
the  strain  appears  to  be  downward,  the  muscles  of  the  neck  being  rigid. 
Weight  is  carried,  not  on  the  shoulders,  like  a  Caucasian,  nor  on  the 
head,  like  the  woolly-haired  races,  but  by  a  strap  pres.-ing  against  the 
forehead  and  passing  to  the  back.  True  Caucasians  trust  to  the  shoulders 
and  loins. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  CGI 

with  the  sole  exception  of  the  positive  extremes.  His  longevity 
is  more  generally  protracted,  even  in  the  midst  of  the  eneivating 
habits  of  high  civilization  ;  his  solid  fibre  gives  a  reasoned  self- 
possession  and  daring  in  vicissitudes,  arising  from  the  passions, 
from  accident,  or  from  the  elements ;  and  his  reflective  powers 
find  expedients  to  brave  danger  with  self-possession  and 
impunity. 

The  moral  and  intellectual  character  we  find  to  be  in  unison 
with  his  structure  :  the  reasoning  powers  outstripping  the  mere 
process  of  comparing  sensations,  and  showing,  in  volition,  more 
elevated  thought,  more  reasoning,  justice,  and  humanity  :  he 
alone  of  the  races  of  mankind  has  produced  examples  of  free 
and  popular  institutions,  and  his  physical  characteristics  have 
maintained  them  in  social  life.  By  means  of  his  logical  intel- 
lect, he  has  arrived  at  ideas  requisite  for  the  acquisition  of 
abstract  truths :  resorting  to  actual  experiment,  he  fixed  bases 
whereon  to  build  demonstrable  inferences,  when  the  positive 
facts  are  not  otherwise  shown;  he  invented  simple  arbitrary 
characters  to  represent  words  and  musical  sounds,  and  a  few 
signs  which,  nevertheless,  denote,  in  their  relative  positions, 
all  the  possible  combinations  of  numbers  and  quantity  ;  he  has 
measured  time  and  distance,  making  the  sideral  bodies  uner- 
ring guides  to  mark  locality  and  give  nautical  direction ;  he 
has  ascended  to  the  skies,  descended  into  the  deep,  and 
mastered  the  powers  of  lightning.  By  mechanical  researches 
the  bearded  man  has  assuaged  human  toil,  multiplied  the 
results  of  industry,  and  created  a  velocity  of  locomotion  superior 
to  the  flight  of  birds.  By  his  chemical  discoveries  he  has 
modified  bodily  pain,  and  produced  numberless  discoveries 
useful  in  medicine,  in  arts  and  manufactures.  He  has  found 
a  sound  and  connected  system  of  the  sciences  in  general,  and 
acquired  a  critical  literature,  while,  for  more  than  three  thou- 
sand years,  he  has  been  the  principal  possessor  of  all  human 
knowledge,  and  the  assertor  of  fixed  laws.  He  has  instituted 
all  the  great  religious  systems  in  the  world,  and  to  his  stock 
31 


362  NATURAL   HXSTOBf    OF 

has  been  vouchsafed  the  glory  and  the  conditions  of  revela- 
tion. 

The  Caucasian  type  alone  continues  in  rapid  developiwent, 
covering  with  nations  every  congenial  latitude,  and  portending, 
at  no  distant  era,  to  bear  rule  in  every  region,  if  not  by  physi- 
cal superiority,  at  least  by  that  dominion  which  religion, 
science,  and  enterprise  confer.  Constituting,  as  we  here  show, 
the  most  important,  the  most  elevated,  and  highly  organized 
type  of  Man,  it  becomes  interesting  to  search  out  the  original 
seat  where  geographical  as  well  as  historical  and  legendary 
evidence  attest  it  was  cradled,  and  whence,  under  the  con- 
ditions of  existence  which  now  surround  it,  fair  induction 
shows  the  great  races  of  this  stock  commenced  to  radiate  in  all 
directions. 

Egyptian  antiquity,  when  not  claiming  priority  of  social 
existence  for  itself,  often  pointed  to  the  regions  of  Habesh,  or 
high  African  Ethiopia,  and  sometimes  to  the  north,  for  the  seat 
of  gods  and  demigods,  because  both  were  the  intermediate 
stations  of  the  progenitor  tribes.  The  Hellenic  nations,  when 
they  searched  for  their  own  aboriginal  source,  a  part  of  their 
ignorant  vanity,  sought  them  in  the  farthest  north,  beyond  the 
dominions  of  Thrace,  and  knew  of  moral  Lactophagi,  of  gods 
and  sages,  among  the  Hyperboreans,  which  could  be  no  nearer 
than  the  Borysthenes  or  Dnieper.  Ionia  and  Western  Asia 
claimed  those  sources  of  nationality  for  the  high  lands  beyond 
the  Euphrates,  or  for  Armenia,  where  the  language  was  partly 
Finnic,  and  further  north-east  on  the  Oxus,  where  the  forms 
of  speech  were  still  more  Hyperborean.  Even  Delos  had  three 
priestesses,  natives  of  the  distant  north ;  and  Olen,  a  high 
priest,  whose  name  is  so  thoroughly  Finnic  as  to  be  still  com- 
mon in  Scandinavia.  But  modern  research,  without  rejecting 
these  facts,  has  shown  that  they  lead,  always,  to  regions  still 
further  east,  Hindu-Koosh,  Cabul,  and  the  Suleimanic  range, 
high  lands,  probably  designated,  in  a  general  form,  by  the 
Sanscrit  name  of  Ariavartha,  —  the  high,  the  holy  land  of  the 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  363 

Hindoos,  whence  all  the  conquering  races  of  the  type  first 
brought  their  heroes,  demigods,  and  legislators;  the  whole, 
both  of  the  south  and  the  east,  ultimately  pointing  to  Thibet  as 
the  cradle  of  the  Caucasian  Man. 

At  the  western  extremity  of  the  Himalaya  chain,  beneath 
the  plateau  of  Thibet,  is  situated  the  basin  of  Cashmere,  sur- 
rounded on  all  sides  by  lofty  mountains,  and  peaks  covered 
with  lasting  snow.  From  this  region  flow  four  or  five  con- 
siderable affluents,  which  give  its  principal  importance  to  the 
Indus.  Where  this  great  stream,  by  the  natives  called  the 
Sind  and  Neelab,  breaks  from  the  north  through  the  mountain 
gorge,  commences  Hindu-Koh,  the  real  Caucasus  and  Imans 
of  the  ancients,  Kaf,  or  Kauf,  of  Arabian  writers,  a  region  so 
elevated  that  the  greater  portion  is  covered  with  permanent 
snow.  The  central  mountain  system  is  overlooked  by  the  peak 
of  Hindu-Koh,  the  culminating  point,  though  others,  like 
Kooner,  to  the  east,  and  Kohi-Baba,  at  the  western  extremity, 
rise,  one  more  than  15,000,  and  the  other  to  1S,000  feet  above 
the  sea.  From  the  vicinity  of  the  last,  the  region  is  bounded 
on  the  north  by  the  first  feeders  of  the  Oxus,  forming  another 
Punjaub,  and  on  the  south  by  the  river  Cabul,  which,  passing 
the  foot  of  the  Kohi-Baba  (the  special  Kaf  of  oriental  fiction), 
flows  eastward  to  the  Indus,  forming  one  of  the  richest  valleys 
in  the  world  for  every  species  of  cultivation.  Further  south, 
beyond  the  peaks  of  Suffeed  Koh,  commence  spurs  or  prolonga- 
tions, passing  nearly  at  right  angles  from  the  main  chain. 
One,  the  most  western,  lower  than  the  other,  is  the  Ghiljee, 
and  the  other,  more  elevated,  forming  the  occidental  side  of 
the  valley  of  the  Indus,  soon  rises  to  a  chain,  which  contains, 
further  south,  the  peak  of  the  Dove,  where,  at  a  remote  period, 
it  was  already  fabled  that  the  ark  rested,  according  to  the 
legends  of  Northern  India.  It  is  not  less  than  12,000  feet  in 
elevation,  and  now  known  by  the  appellation  of  Takt-y- 
Soleimaun. 

From  Hindu-Koosh,  a  lofty  chain,  now  known  by  the  name 


8G4  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

of  Gl  jor,  continues  westward,  and  is  said  to  have  been  more 
particularly  the  Parvati  Montes,  or  ancient  Paropamissus  of 
Ptolemy.  Further  on,  we  find  another  Takt-y-Soleimaun,  as 
well  as  a  third  at  Och,  on  the  Syr-D  riah,  or  Jaxartes.  All 
Arahic  names  in  central  Asia  are,  however,  of  recent  imposition. 
Then  we  have  the  Caspian  range,  leading  on  to  the  second,  or 
interpontine  Caucasus  of  western  writers.  Towards  the  east, 
Hindu-Koosh  abuts  on  the  Bclor  ridges,  which  turn  northward, 
and   fi]  nt  the  high  table  land  of  Parnere,  termed  the 

back-bone  of  the  world.  Pooshtu  Kur,  the  most  prominent 
peak  in  the  new  direction  of  the  chain,  sends  forth,  from  its 
broad  glacier,  the  grand  source  of  the  Oxus,  Jeyhoon  or  Arnou, 
which  flows  to  the  west  and  north  ;  and  further  on,  where  the 
Gakchal  mountains  curve  from  north  to  east,  joining  the  Mous- 
sour  and  Thianchan  chains,  continued  fronts  of  elevated  gla- 
ciers pass  on,  in  a  north-eastern  direction,  till  they  subside  in 
the  Gobi  Desert.  From  the  glacier  of  Moustach  issues  the 
Jaxartes,  flowing  on  to  the  Sea  of  Aral.  From  longitude  70  to 
80  east,  there  are  only  three  practicable  passes  to  the  west; 
all,  further  eastward,  as  well  as  the  river,  are  turned  to  the 
north.  From  the  nucleus  of  Irin  Khabirgan,  above  the  sources 
of  the  He  river,  east  of  the  city  Hi,  passes  a  subordinate  chain 
of  high  lands,  leaving  Lake  Balkach  to  the  west,  and  soon 
after  (about  lat.  49),  turning  likewise  to  the  north  and.  east, 
joins  the  little  Altai,  and  constitutes  a  second  table  land,  till  it 
is  united  with  the  clustering  ranges  about  Lake  Baikal.  We 
need  not  pursue  this  description  further  eastward,  but  confine 
our  observations,  by  stating  that  from  the  east  to  the  south- 
west a  cross  range,  under  various  names,  separates  the  Gobi 
Desert  from  the  plains  of  Thibet,  a  great  part  of  which  is  still 
geographically  unknown,  though  here,  also,  as  on  the  west  of 
the  great  table  land,  rivers  of  considerable  size,  among  which 
another  He  and  the  Kachgar  Yarkiang  terminate  in  lakes,  or 
are  absorbed  in  the  sands,  having  frequently,  in  their  upper 
courses,  fertile  vales  and  habitable  glens. 


THE    Hl'MAN    SPECIES.  365 

It  is  on  and  around  the  regions  here  slightly  traced  out,  that 
it  becomes  evident  the  filiations  of  the  bearded  stock  should 
not  be  viewed  solely  through  the  medium  of  disjointed  texts  of 
ancient  writers,  far  removed  from  the  localities,  but  where  they 
first  began ;  for,  in  order  to  form  a  fair  estimate  of  realities,  it 
is  important  to  study  the  local  geography,  and  to  become 
thoroughly  conversant  with  the  science  of  what  is  technically 
denominated  reading  the  ground,  —  that  is,  of  grasping  the 
;onditions  of  every  topographical  and  geographical  fact;  of 
•appreciating  the  consequences  attendant  on  residing  or  migrating 
across,  up,  or  down,  the  current  of  streams;  of  toiling  through 
snow-clad  regions,  turning  a  long  range,  or  finding  an  approach 
to  mountain  passes,  through  marshes  and  forests,  straits  by 
sea,  and  straits  on  land  ;  of  migrations  to  be  accomplished,  not 
by  hunters,  but  by  tribes  who  have  their  families  and  property 
to  carry  with  them,  and  must  be  able  to  find  food  in  their 
progress.  In  opening  thus  the  book  of  nature,  and  learning 
how  realities  should  be  dealt  with,  there  remain  many  other 
considerations  to  be  kept  in  view,  such  as  climate  and  seasons, 
periods  of  frost,  of  ice,  or  of  drought  and  monsoon  winds.  Still 
more,  in  order  to  trace  the  march  of  ancient  nations,  it  is 
requisite  to  search  for  marks  attesting  man's  handywork,  in 
evidence  of  his  passage ;  for  troglodyte  habitations,  sepulchral 
ruins,  and  piles  of  stones,  tell  also,  and  more  forcibly,  of  by- 
gone ages,  than  texts  of  mere  individual  authority  ;  nay,  they 
disprove  them,  and  invalidate  remote  chronology.  In 
proportion  as  we  may  interpret  rightly  these  documents  of 
nature  and  time,  we  shall  understand  human  doings  in  thrt 
infancy  of  society ;  and  when  we  also  call  to  our  aid  the  relig- 
ious doctrines,  the  ancient  poetical  records,  and  the  laws  and 
legends  of  a  people,  wc  shall  find,  in  general,  sufficient  data  to 
arrive  at  epochs  in  time  often  more  trustworthy  than  the  pre- 
cise years  affixed  to  events,  obtained  by  reckoning  backwards 
certain  astronomical  facts,  or  reigns  of  kings,  which  chronolo- 
gists  themselves  find  means  to  advance  or  retard,  in  order  to 
31* 


obD  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

make  .hem  applicable  to  a  favorite  theory.  Our  conclusions 
we  shall  rarely  find  at  variance  with  linguistic  relations,  when 
these  are  fairly  tested  by  circumstances.  Here  we  endeavor  to 
trace  Man  back  from  known  conditions  to  others  anterior  to 
them,  but  which  must  of  necessity  have  been  in  his  career, 
though  it  may  be  that  they  occurred  some  centuries  sooner  or 
later.  It  is  in  this  manner  we  find  the  reasons  for  assuming 
that  the  Caucasian  stock,  traced  up  to  the  earliest  period,  was 
nestling  in  or  above  the  glens  of  Hindu-Koosh  and  the  neigh- 
boring mountain  ranges;  for  there  we  find  it  already  distin- 
guished in  two  or  three  well  marked  varieties  of  color,  the 
swarthy  and  the  fair,  and  subdivided  in  several  secondary 
shades,  each  having  homogeneous  features,  limbs,  and  intellect- 
ual capacities.  We  can  even  point  out  the  particular  geo- 
graphical localities  which  several  must  have  occupied;  and 
from  what  has  been  stated  already  in  the  remarks  on  the 
Hindu-Papua  tribes,  and  again  on  the  Caucaso-Mongole  or 
Finnic  races,  the  gradual  passage  of  one  typical  form  to  the 
intermediate.  We  have,  in  the  remarks  upon  these  subtypical 
tribes,  had  occasion  to  point  out  the  evident  possession  of 
Thibet,  of  parts  of  China  and  Mongolia,  by  the  bearded  race  ; 
and  that  they  are  noticed  in  early  Chinese  authorities  by  the 
names  of  Kinto-Moey  and  Yuchi ;  and  still  in  part  are  occupiers 
of  the  more  inaccessible  mountains  of  the  interior,  bearing  the 
contemptuous  appellations  of  Miau-tze  and  Mou-laou.  Even 
western  geographers  were  not  entirely  ignorant  of  this  fact, 
since  by  them  Gangarides  are  placed  on  the  Brahmaputra ; 
and  the  antique  presence  of  Sanscrit,  that  most  extensive  of  all 
languages,  is  attested,  by  innumerable  denominations,  far 
beyond  these  regions,  since  we  find  them  pervading  the 
greater  part  of  Thibet  and  Indo-China. 

As  the  predominant  external  character,  and  the  correspond- 
ing intellectual  tendencies  of  the  Caucasian  Man  are  found  to 
assimilate  with  the  other  two  typical  stocks  in  proportion  as 
they  approach  geographically  to,  and  mix  with  them,  the  inter- 


THE    HUMAN   SPECIES.  367 

mediate  Ethiopic  on  the  south,  and  Finnic  on  the  north, 
have,  next  to  their  points  of  contact,  shades  of  dark-skinned 
or  fair  races,  partaking  of  these  characters  in  degree  only 
according  to  that  vicinity ;  and  thence  we  must  look  for  the 
normal  point  of  the  type  where  the  influence  of  the  other  two 
is,  or  at  least  primevally  was,  least  accessible.  This  geograph- 
ical point  belongs  emphatically  to  Hindu-Koosh,  extending 
eastward  up  to  the  Pamere,  and  westward  through  Armenia, 
and  the  occidental  Caucasus  to  Greece  and  Italy,  notwithstand- 
ing the  progress  which,  since  the  historical  ages,  the  Mongolic 
diffusion  has  made  in  Northern  Asia,  following  a  similar 
extension  of  the  true  Caucasians  towards  the  west,  after  an 
interval  of  some  ages. 

Of  the  three  varieties  of  color  and  temperament  most  dis- 
tinctly marked  in  the  Caucasian  type,  the  first  is  characterized 
by  brown  complexions  and  dark  eyes  and  hair,  very  symmetri- 
cal proportions,  a  round-domed  skull,  and  an  intelligence  most 
vividly  imaginative.  The  temperament  sensual,  the  vindic- 
tive passions  active,  the  perceptive  faculties  quick,  and  the 
physical  energies  demanding  mental  excitement  more  than 
reason  for  exertion.  Such  are  the  ardent  nations  of  the  south. 
Opposed  to  them  in  form  and  disposition  are  the  tribes  of  the 
north:  with  a  loftier  stature,  a  fair,  often  a  ruddy  skin,  xan- 
thous hair,  rather  ponderous  limbs,  a  squarer  skull,  and  coarser 
features ;  they  have  little  comparative  vivacity,  but  are 
endowed  with  the  faculty  of  thought  and  reason  less  under  the 
control  of  petulant  desires  ;  more  reflective,  and  therefore  more 
continuously  attached  to  conclusions  once  formed ;  slow,  but 
patient  in  perseverance ;  and  brave,  without  requiring  the 
stimulus  of  enthusiasm.  They  are  sincere  and  single-minded; 
but  addicted  to  gluttony  and  drunkenness.  Between  these 
twc  we  find  the  typical  root  still  more  essentially  mountaineer 
in  habit,  with  clear  complexions,  light  brown,  auburn,  light  or 
dark  hair.  It  has  the  skull  formed  almost  like  the  southern 
stem,  but  broader  in  the  forehead.     By  nature  and  locality 


368  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

possessed  of  the  highest  endowments  of  the  other  two,  except- 
ing perhaps  the  quality  of  reasoned  patience;  it  is  imaginative, 
poetical,  inventive,  artful,  eloquent,  valiant,  and  indefatigable. 
It  has  been  the  master  stem  from  all  antiquity;  and,  in  par- 
ticular, that  ambitious  rare,  which  is  distinguished  by  high 
features,  has  ever  been  the  conquering,  the  imperious  form, 
that  commands  in  battle  and  rules  in  peace,  wherever  it  is 
found  mixed  in  the  social  life  of  nations.  Although  beauty, 
valor,  and  logical  capacity,  may  not  by  any  means  be  denied 
the  more  vertical  profiles,  yet  mathematical,  linguistic,  and 
experimental  science  belong  more  permanently  to  the  less 
admired  lines  of  features.  It  is  by  the  exercise  of  these  facul- 
ties, tempered  with  forbearance,  that  the  resolute  tenacity  of 
the  last  mentioned  maintains  its  ground,  and  the  public  will 
obtain  modifications  of  the  arbitrary  canons  which  the  others 
have  imposed. 

It  is  the  Caucasian  Man,  who,  in  all  regions  and  times,  has 
been  the  sole  depositor  of  religion.  The  Papua  and  Xegro 
races  of  antiquity  do  not  appear  to  have  possessed  creeds  at 
any  period  deserving  to  be  classed  with  reasoned  allegorical 
dogmas;  they  were  merely  absurd  injunctions  to  commit 
revolting  bloodshed.  Even  when  palliated,  remodelled,  and 
systematized  by  the  influence  of  Caucasian  rulers,  they  con- 
tinued more  to  degrade  the  masters  than  to  elevate  the  van- 
quished. Of  the  Mongolians,  we  know  that  the  mythological 
Foh,  the  Budhas,  Fologes,  Soloktais,  and  Siakas,  or  Sakias, 
of  China  and  Japan,  were  appropriated  Hindu-Caucasians, 
Yuchi,  or  Asiatic  Finns.  The  bearded  races  alone  had  pos- 
session of  a  true  reminiscence  of  the  diluvian  cataclysis,  and 
transmitted  it  by  their  colonies  to  every  part  of  the  earth, 
mutilated,  altered,  and  debased,  but  still  always  discernible, 
notwithstanding  that  in  time  the  high  plains  of  Asia  had  first 
instituted  a  Sabaean  worship,  and  subsequently  implanted  it 
upon  the  Arkite  creed,  confounding  the  patriarch  navigator 
with  the  sun,  typifying  the  deluge  in  the  form  of  a  dragon  or 


THE  HUMAN   SPECIES.  £69 

vast  sea-serpent,  and  converting  the  ship  or  ark  into  a  living 
organ  of  preservation  and  reproduction  :  thus  was  substance 
afforded  for  interminable  legends,  names,  and  dogmas,  which, 
in  Dne  or  more  forms,  spread  all  around,  reached  the  furthest 
west,  originated  the  repetition  of  ancient  names  for  new  local- 
ities, new  sites  of  Paradise,  new  rivers  of  Eden,  new  moun- 
tains of  the  Descent,  in  the  succession  of  migrations,  and  when 
time  had  fixed  fresh  centres  of  national  existence.*  In  this 
manner,  while  the  Semitic  nations  recalled  the  memory  of 
their  primeval  social  abode  in  the  Babel  of  Babylon,  the 
Egyptians  saw  their  Arkite  city  at  Thebes,  or  Theba ;  the 
Persian  Arii  found  the  city  of  the  gods  in  Pasargade,  where 
the  huge  palace  was  again  an  ark ;  the  Hindoos  pointed  to 
Kasi,  now  Benares;  and  the  western  Teutonic  nations  to 
Asgard,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Don;  while,  by  the  very  radia- 
tion of  these  localities,  there  is  reason  to  believe,  what  tradition 
confirms,  that  the  original  locality  was  high  up  the  course  of 
the  Oxus,  if,  indeed,  it  was  not  actually  within  the  mountains 
of  Hindu-Koosh,  or  Bokhara,  significantly  denominated  the 
High  Land  of  God. 

The  great  mental  activity  stimulating  all  the  races  of  this 
type  to  physical  exertion,  has  caused  the  earliest  ages  to  be  re- 
plete with  their  wars  and  conquests.    First,  probably,  they  were 

*  The  root,  Ar,  in  Arach,  Araxes,  Arachosia,  Arbela,  Arch,  Ararat, 
Arawati,  Aarhorn,  Aar,  and  Ra,  rivers,  ever  implies  rushing,  soaring,  as 
in  the  Circassian  a  peak,  in  Pelhevic  a  roaring  stream,  and  in  Sanscrit 
denominations  abounding  in  High  Asia  always  connected  with  mountain 
and  high  land  :  hence  we  find  it  often  in  connection  with  the  physical  local- 
ities, where  Eden  and  the  four  rivers  of  Paradise,  as  well  as  the  diluvian 
event,  are  placed  by  the  traditions  of  nations.  Indian  pundits  have 
p  nted  out  Lake  Manasa,  17,000  feet  above  the  sea,  as  the  sacred  centre 
wnence  the  four  rivers  of  Paradise,  the  Brahmaputra,  Ganges,  Indus,  and 
Sita,  are  erroneously  asserted  to  proceed.  But  each  nation  long  located 
in  a  region  has  found  a  sacred  centre,  and  the  required  rivers,  at  no  great 
distance  from  home.  There  are  at  least  twenty  of  them  between  Thibet 
and  Snowdon. 


370  NATURAL    niSTORY    OF 

directed  aga'nst  (he  less  pugnacious  black  nations,  and  then 
against  each  other,  striving  not  only  for  the  choice  of  regions 
to  inhabit  for  the  possession  of  pasturage  and  rivers,  but  to 
dictate  opinions  on  all  questions  of  human  interest;  and  as  the 
conquerors  of  one  moment  w^  mquished  of  the  next,  all 

the  tribes,  particularly  of  the  west,  are  exceedingly  in 
in  physical  and  mental  appearance  bearing  evidence  to  the  fact. 
It  is  still  more  a  result  of  the  long  continued  practice  common 
to  all,  of  buying,  selling  and  capturing  human  beings  for 
■laves,  —  the  Britons,  the  Gauls,  the  Saxon-,  Germans,  Rus- 
sians, and  Hebrews;  all  the  nations  of  Western  Asia,  the 
ancient  Greeks,  the   Romans,  the   Carthaginian  is  and 

Christians,  all  shared  for  ages  the  abominable  traffic.  The 
dark-haired  nations  of  the  south  were  choice  in  searching  for 
fair  slaves  from  the  north ;  the  fair  preferred  more  swarthy, 
and  gave  great  prices  for  blacks  from  Africa.  Constantinople 
abounded  in  Sclavonic  captives  and  children,  purchased  by 
Jews ;  the  debtor  and  the  prisoner  of  war  were  sold,  and  Ver- 
dun 'was  long  celebrated  for  its  traffic  in  emasculated  victims. 
Hence  the  fair,  the  xanthous,  the  brown  and  black  complex- 
ioned,  are  mixed  in  every  nation. 

With  regard  to  the  facilities  of  proceeding  by  land  from  the 
Indus  and  from  central  Asia  to  the  west,  there  is  in  every 
direction  the  difficulty  to  be  encountered  of  a  deficiency 
of  water,  and  consequently  of  verdure  to  subsist  cattle.  There 
are  extensive  deserts  of  absolute  sand,  and  the  coast-line  along 
the  Persian  Gulf  seems  never  to  have  been  practicable. 
Beginning  from  the  mouth  of  the  Indus,  the  first  route  passing 
to  the  west,  by  Kurrachee,  crossed  the  Luchee  Hills  to  Bam- 
bacia,  Faura,  now  Puhra,  traversed  the  Gedrosian  mountain 
chain,  and  led  to  ancient  Pasargada  (Persagarda)  and  Per- 
sepolis.  It  was  by  this  line  Alexander  the  Great  returned 
with  his  forces  to  Persia.  The  second  was  by  the  Gundara 
Pass,  through  the  desert  to  Lake  Aria,  whence  again  it  bent 
southwa~d  to  Persepolis;  this  was  the  route  of  Craterus  with  a 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  371 

Macedonian  corps.  A  third  avenue  still  leads  through  the 
Bolan  Pass  to  the  Etymander  or  Helmund,  and  Lake  Aria, 
now  Zurrah,  whence  there  is  a  caravan  route  by  Yezd,  through 
the  Great  Arian  Desert,  of  above  fifty  days'  journey,  for  loaded 
camels  to  Ispahan.  Another  passes  to  the  north  from  Dooshak, 
near  the  above  lake,  by  Furrah,  to  Herat,  Meshed,  to  the 
Atrack  River,  and  Asterabad.  But  the  fourth  of  these  lines  is 
the  great  and  most  ancient  route  of  migration,  not  so  njuch  to 
the  Indus,  as  from  the  high  table  land  of  Thibet  to  the  Oxus, 
in  remote  periods  apparently  much  more  available  than  at 
present,  for  the  inland  sea  of  Western  Asia  had  not  yet 
entirely  shrunk  into  the  Caspian  and  Aral,  and  the  rivers  now 
lost  in  sand,  or  wholly  dried  up,  were  still  flowing  to  that 
Mediterranean.  It  became  the  high  road  from  Kachgar  by 
Ota,  across  the  Bolor  range,  through  Karatighin  to  Bactra,  or 
Balkh,  was  the  great  outlet  from  Hindu-Koosh  down  the  Oxus, 
or  along  the  flanks  of  Paropamisus  to  the  west,  and  by  the 
troglodyte  city  of  Bamean,  entered  the  two  passes  of  Kohi- 
Baba,  by  Cabul,  and  Jalalabad  (Nagara),  to  the  Indus.  '  The 
other  great  line  is  through  the  Kiptchak  and  Gakchal  chains, 
by  the  Kaksou  and  Terek  passes,  leading  north-west  to  Och  or 
Takti  Soliman,  on  the  Jaxartes ;  it  is  a  caravan  route,  still  in 
use  to  Orenburg,  in  Russia. 

THE   SEMITIC   RACES. 

It  was  along  these  avenues  that  the  moving  colonists 
descended,  both  from  the  plateau  of  Thibet,  and  from  Hindu- 
Koosh.  We  have  seen  how  they  penetrated  to  India ;  how 
among  other  nations  the  Arab  and  Indoo  Arab  formed  the  prin- 
cipal basis  of  the  Ethiopian  stem,  till  the  whole  of  the  original 
nations,  as  Egyptians,  Cushites,  and  Habesh,  notwithstanding 
that  more  northern,  and  even  fair-haired  tribes  were  merged 
in  thern,  were  finally  driven  across  the  Red  Sea  into  Africa. 

Thus  we  have  noticed  how  Caucasian  characteristics  deepen 


872  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

into  Papua  Negroes,  in  proportion  to  their  intermixture 
towards  the  tropics,  or  brighten  as  they  pass  on  to  the  border 
of  this  first  distribution  ;  for,  on  the  line  of  contact,  the  conquer- 
•  «•  has  nearly  retained  its  whole  integrity,  whilst  on  the 
north  of  that  line,  a  melanic  shade  in  the  skin,  with  very  dark 
eyes,  and  black  curly  hair,  leaves  in  the  first,  and  perhaps 
oldest  civilized  nations,  an  evidence  of  some  pollution  with 
their  vanquished  slaves,  and  makes  the  question  of  local 
hybridism  incontestable ;  for,  notwithstanding  the  distinction 
drawn  by  the  nations  themselves,  the  facts  remain  unaltered. 
And  we  shall  now  proceed  to  notice  a  second  wave  of  more 
pure  Caucasian  Arabians,  who  left  but  slender  record  of  their 
predecessors,  and  became  united  with  the  rejected  descendants 
of  the  family  of  Heber.  They  appear  to  have  been  herdsmen 
of  the  southern  desert,  wandering  with  their  goats  and  sheep, 
perhaps  with  camels,  onwards  towards  the  west,  beneath  the 
Gedrosian  high  lands,  till  they  crossed  the  Shat-ul-Arab. 


THE   ARABS. 

The  original  tribes  of  Arabia,  already  in  possession  of  the 
land  at  the  time  of  the  departure  of  Israel,  were  of  the  same 
race  as  some  of  the  first  invaders  of  India.  They  mixed  with 
the  Papuas,  and,  formed  the  Ethiopian  stem,  which  possessed 
the  peninsula  of  Arabia,  as  far  eastward  as  the  lower 
Euphrates,  expanding  more  and  more  over  the  desert  of  Syria, 
where  the  true  Bedoween,  the  swarthy  JEnese  clans,  chiefly 
resided  ;  but  here  they  were  encountered  by  the  giant  race 
from  the  north-east,  who  reached  Syria  or  Shams,  and  soon 
appear  to  have  established  themselves  as  masters  among  them, 
in  like  manner  as  they  effected  the  same  revolution  in  Egypt, 
and  Palestine  or  Canaan;  continuing  to  press  southward,  they 
mixed  with  the  possessors  of  Yemen,  retaining,  in  some  cases 
only,  a  separate  nationality;  such,  for  example,  as  the   Rus- 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  373 

tumi,  the  Phoenicians,  and  the  Getse.  Internat.onal  tvars,  and 
the  usual  decrease  of  the  fair-skinned  master  race  in  clima'res 
of  tropical  heat,  caused  several  tribes  to  be  lost,  such  as  those 
of  Ad,  Thamud,  Jades,  and  Tasm,  which,  being  of  the  more 
northern  portion,  were  chiefly  affected  by  these  causes,  and 
subsequently  were  vanquished  by  the  Cuthites  of  Yemen,  or 
were  absorbed;  and  their  fate  is  the  subject  of  sundry  marvel- 
lous legends  in  the  Tarikh  Tebri. 

At  present  there  remain  the  Arab-el-Arabah,  forming  two 
stems,  claiming  Kahtan  for  common  parent.  They  are  per- 
haps the  Hadoram  and  Tarah  of  Moses ;  but  it  is  not  to  them 
that  Arabia  is  indebted  for  celebrity.  Affiliated  races  produced 
it.  The  Mostarabi,  or  Ishmaelites  of  the  Hejas,  claim  the 
honor,  and  assume  a  superior  nobility  of  blood,  as  descendants 
from  Abraham.  They  are  the  fabricators  of  the  Kaba,  and  the 
distorted  legends  concerning  the  patriarchs.  In  that  vocation 
it  seems  the  Koreish  have  been  chiefly  engaged,  although  the 
affinity  they  have  with  the  descendants  of  Ishmael  is  doubtful; 
it  being  believed  that  they  were  originally  Edomites,  that  is, 
a  red-haired  people.  In  this  vicinity,  among  the  Edomite  cities, 
there  was  Erech,  Raphia,  or  Rekem,  near  Mons  Casius  and 
Larissa,  Larsh  near  Gaza,  both  bearing  evidently  names  con- 
nected with  a  Scythic  dialect,  and  repeated  wherever  Pelasgian 
nations  were  spread,  from  Asia  Minor  to  the  Danube ;  equally 
common  to  Celto-Scythic  possessions,  as  the  names  of  Lorch, 
Lorach,  Lorca,  Lara,  and  Larch,  abound  in  Spain  and  Southern 
Germany.*  Towards  the  mouth  of  the  Euphrates,  however, 
in  the  vicinity  of  scriptural  Bosra,  the  Arabian  Zobeir  was 
inhabited  by  the  Orchaeni,  a  colony,  it  appears,  of  Indo- 
Ethiopians,  who,  Pliny  says,  promulgated  "  a  tertia  Chaldafo- 
rum  doctrina."  They  had  acquirements  in  astronomy  and 
science   which   were   regarded  as  magical.     The   inhabitants 

*  Even  Nineveh  is  termed  Larissa  by  Xenophon,  and  as  the  eastern- 
most of  the  thirteen  places  so  named  by  the  ancients.  Most  of  these  were 
of  Pelasgian  origin. 

32 


374  NATURAL   1IIST0RY    OF 

still  breed  white  asses,  as  of  old,  and  appear  themselves  like 
low  caste  Hindoos.  Of  this  ancient  capital  there  are  still  ris- 
ible fragments  of  pillars,  (ice;  and  it  may  be  remarked  that 
Zobeir  is  more  likely  derived  from  a  Sanscrit  or  Scythic  root, 
denoting- sorcery,  than  from  an  Arab  chief  of  that  aame,  who  is 
said  to  have  fallen  near  this  place,  w1k.ii  Ayesha,  widow  of 
Mahommed,  was  defeated  by  Ali,  in  tin-  y>  ar  656  of  our  era. 

Another  source  of  the  Arabian  people  was  derived  from  the 
Jewish  clans,  which,  after  the  massacre  in  Persia,  had  re- 
tired to  the  desert,  and  become  formidable  by  their  numbers 
and  warlike  propensities.  They  had  apostatized,  and  united 
with  the  followers  of  Mahommed,  and  greatly  strengthened 
his  forces,  notwithstanding  that  other  clans  of  Hebrews,  who 
retained  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  were  expelled  by  him. 
Long  before  that  period  they  had  been  forced  to  disperse,  in 
consequence  of  the  successful  inroad  of  a  Roman  army  under 
CElius  Gallus,  who  is  said  to  have  burst  the  colossal  stone  em- 
bankment raised  to  sustain  the  waters  of  the  Mareb,  a  very 
extensive  reservoir,  serving  to  irrigate  a  great  district  of  land. 
The  event  is  known  by  the  name  of  the  deluge  of  El  Maureb; 
for  when  the  waters  escaped,  the  whole  cultivated  surface  was 
swept  away,  and  the  wretchedness  it  produced  was  among  the 
original  causes  of  the  subsequent  expansion  of  the  Arabian 
power,  because  forced  emigrations  led  colonies  beyond  the 
Shat-ul-Arab,  perhaps,  even  then,  so  far  to  the  east  as  the  bank 
of  the  Indus,  producing  constant  hostilities  against  the  Par- 
tisans, while  other  tribes,  pressed  to  the  borders  of  Kourdistan, 
equally  embroiled  them  with  the  Byzantine  Romans,  at  a 
period  when  the  Arabian  horse  first  began  to  acquire  its  supe- 
rior qualities.  Ages  before  that  time  the  Phoenician  traders, 
who  were  masters  in  the  Persian  Gulf  and  the  islands  of  Bah- 
rein, had  no  doubt  stimulated  the  Arabs'  love  of  adventure,  and 
from  pirates  turned  their  attention  to  legitimate  trade,  ulti- 
mately becoming  the  successors  of  the  parents  of  commercial 
industry.     They  traded  as  they  had  roved  to  Madagascar    ind 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  375 

in  the  monsoons  reached  not  only  the  marts  of  India,  but,  it 
appears,  penetrated  by  their  own  efforts,  or  in  connection  with 
a  remote  navigating  system  in  the  South  Seas,  to  the  ports  of 
China.  For  ages  the  southern  portion  of  Arabia  was  possessed 
by  Phoenicians  and  Cuthites:  the  last  mentioned,  after  they 
had  been  driven  across  the  Red  Sea  to  Africa,  returned,  and 
again  swayed  the  commercial  provinces  by  their  authority  ; 
they  opposed  the  progress  of  Islam,  but  were  at  length  van- 
quished, not  by  the  power  of  the  true  Arabians,  but  by  the 
affiliated  tribes  of  Mostarabi,  who,  with  the  Koran  in  hand, 
rallied  all  parties  in  a  career  of  unexampled  victory,  extin- 
guishing in  their  progress  languages,  nations,  traditions,  and 
history,  to  the  wall  of  China,  and  to  the  Pyrenees. 

Notwithstanding  the  vicissitudes  and  intermixture  of  races, 
the  aspect  of  the  present  typical  Arabs  is  a  light  sinewy  struc- 
ture, with  great  capacity  of  endurance,  a  swarthy  complexion, 
with  high  lengthened  features,  black  curly  locks,  and  a  bril- 
liant dark  eye,  full  of  malignant  fire.  Though  not  exempt 
from  subjugation,  they  have  survived  conquests,  because  no 
victorious  nation  has  ever  thought  the  desert  a  possession 
worth  acquiring. 

With  the  national  convulsions  the  language  of  Arabia  has 
likewise  changed.  Ancient  Arabic  is  not  only  a  dead  lan- 
guage, but  the  character  and  alphabet  are  equally  lost,  though 
it  is  suppos:ed  to  have  had  two  dialects,  the  Hamjar  and  Kore- 
ish,  and  that  certain  words  and  forms  of  speech  in  the  Axumite 
tongue  of  Abyssinia  are  remains  of  it. 

THE   HEBREWS. 

Though  of  all  the  nations  of  antiquity  this  people  is  best  known, 
and  clearly  depicted  in  the  most  authentic  records,  the  conclu- 
sions of  the  comment  on  the  text  are  by  no  means  free  from 
objection,  respecting  the  assumed  geographical  position  of  the 
original  stem,  nor  the   inference    that  this  people,  so  far  as 


376  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

regards  its  subsequent  alliances  and  interunions,  had  the  right 
to  call  itself  pure  or  unmixed.     All  the  tril  rid  d  from 

Abraham  and  Lot  were  of  high  land 
through  Armenia,  clearly  in  part  of  a  fair  rufo 
eyed,  and  auburn  hair.  Evidence  of  the  fact  is  repeatedly 
traced  in  history  and  in  tradition.  The  manifestation  is  still 
positively  marked  in  many  Oriental  Israelites;  and  in  Morocco, 
a  region  least  liable  to  that  kind  of  adulteration,  the  women  in 
particular  1  eing  to  this  day  generally  gray-eyed.  The  family 
of  Heber  was,  therefore,  not  Chaldean  nor  Assyrian.  It  came 
from  the  East,  and  might  be  of  the  same  stem  as  that  which 
subsequently  invaded  the  Suleimanic  range,  west  of  the  Indus, 
for  here  was  an  early  national  centre,  whence  colonies  pene- 
trated to  India,  where  Hebrew  congeners  may  now  be  believed 
to  exist  ;  as  tribes  of  Rajpoots,  and  others,  passing  on  to  the 
borders  of  Indo-China,  may  be  the  present  Mugs,  for  all  of 
these  have  the  peculiar  Hebrew  aspect  and  conformation  ;  have 
even  rites  and  customs  similar  to  that  people,  as  well  as  tra- 
ditions and  reminiscences,  which  now  assume  the  aspect  of 
actual  descent  from  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel.*  These  facts 
establish  an  affinity  too  positive  for  utter  rejection.  Although 
we  will  not  carry  the  conditions  of  Hebrew  consanguinity 
further  than  to  hint  that  perhaps  the  promised  high  destiny  of 
the  race  embraced  alliances  which  should  include  the  three 
great  typical  forms  ;  first,  by  connection  with  the  rufous  stem, 
through  the  Asiatic  Finn  tribes,  who  were  the  Scythian  con- 
querors, at  one  time  in  Armenia,  and  again  for  ages  resident 
in  northern  Egypt  and  Palestine ;  and  in  the  second,  by  the  long 

*  The  assertion  that  these  AfFghans  expelled  a  nation  of  Kaafirs  or  idol- 
aters since  the  Hegira,  is  more  unlikely  than  that  they  themselves  are 
converted  idolaters  ;  for  mountain  tribes  are  not  expelled  by  passing- 
conquerors  who  have  themselves  Jewish  rites.  It  is  more  likely  that 
original  consanguinity  carried  Jewish  fugitives  among  them,  whose 
books  and  wondrous  history  caused  the  whole  clan  to  adopt  them  as  their 
own. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  377 

unrestrained  alliances  with  the  real  Egyptian  people,  as  well 
as  with  Canaanites  during  the  administration  of  the  Judges; 
and  at  a  later  period  with  Babylonians,  Greeks  and  Romans. 

A  mcst  ancient  assimilation  of  the  Hebrew  people,  if  not  an 
actual  origin  among  tribes  located  near  the  Gomerian  source, 
is  indicated  by  the  exiled  tribes  having  shown  a  greater  ten- 
dency to  mix  and  assimilate  with  the  Finnic  Scythians  on  the 
north  than  with  the  Arabs  on  the  south  ;  notwithstanding  that 
their  language  was  more  positively  allied  to  it  than  to  the 
Celtic  or  any  Finnic  dialect.  In  the  north  alone,  the  ancient 
Israelite  race  found  honor  and  power,  as  was  proved  by  the 
military  energy  they  displayed  against  the  Persians,  noticed  in 
an  earlier  part  of  this  volume,  and  again  in  their  connection 
with  and  titular  dignity  among  the  Khazars  ;  it  is  even  now 
shown  in  the  respect  bestowed  upon  the  Karaite  Jews  of  the 
Crimea.  These  views  are  strengthened  by  the  beautiful  spher- 
ical cranium  of  the  Jews,  as  fine  as  the  Arabian  or  Circassian  ; 
by  their  profiles  still  predominantly  aquiline  ;  by  the  frequent 
recurrence  of  gray  eyes,  xanthous  hair;  and  by  a  sturdy  struc- 
ture, less  Arabian  than  Celtic,  yet  on  the  whole  retaining  an 
Asiatic  and  peculiar  aspect  seldom  adorned  with  beauty. 

All  the  foregoing  conditions  taken  together  tend  to  show 
that  the  Hebrew  race  and  language  were  not  paternally  of  a 
Semitic  origin,  but  that  both  resulted  from  the  region  where  the 
first  family  came  to  settle  among  strangers;  and  the  mixed 
alliances,  in  the  earlier  period  of  the  tribal  history,  contracted 
with  Egyptians,  Canaanites,  Arabs,  Babylonians,  and  even 
Phoenicians,  affected  it,  till  in  the  end  they  adopted  Greek  and 
Roman  names.  The  males  of  a  race  cannot  alone  maintain  its 
purity,  and  where  polygamy  exists,  the  other  sex  must  neces- 
sarily change  it  almost  entirely. 

In  China,   Cochin-China,  and   Malabar,  Jews   now  exist  in 

families,  according  to  the  most  trustworthy  account,  ever  since 

they  were  expelled  Persia,  in  the  year  of  Christ  508.     There 

are  in  the  last-named  region  black  Jews,  probably  a  mixed  race 

32* 


378  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

of  prosi  lytes  of  low  caste.  Though  an  older  people,  the  Sulei- 
manic  Affghans  pretend  to  he  descendants  oi  the  first  captivity ; 
there  is  still  a  clan  of  them  known  as  the  Beni  Khaibe  in  Arabia  ; 
and  the  Falishas  of  Abyssinia,  according  to  Bruce,  are  a  tribe 
of  Jews ;  finally,  the  white  race  of  Zafi-Ibritn,  in  Madagascar, 
claim  Abraham  for  their  progenitor.  The  handsomest  of  the 
whole  nation  are  asserted  to  be  the  Babylonians  of  Meso- 
potamia; and  it  used  to  be  from  among  them  that  the  prince 
of  the  captivity,  now  the  wretched  representative  of  the 
ancient  kings,  was  and  still  is  selected  by  the  Turkish  govern- 
ment. 

In  all  lands  they  are,  as  of  old,  a  stiff-necked  race,  most  reso- 
lutely attached  to  their  institutions,  ever  since  the  Christian 
dispensation  was  promulgated.  It  is  difficult  to  decide  whether 
their  own  obstinacy  of  character,  or  the  unceasing  injustice  of 
mankind,  have  been  other  than  agents,  mutually  acting  upon 
each  other,  to  produce  that  permanent  manifestation  in  their 
forms  and  opinions  which  separates  them  from  human  society, 
as  it  were,  by  a  lasting  miracle  ;  still  the  persecuted  Jew  bears 
on  his  front  the  tokens  of  mental  power,  in  his  make  the  attri- 
butes of  physical  strength,  and  in  his  heart  the  feelings  of 
mercy  and  charity,  which  all  the  vices  acquired  by  degradation, 
or  natural  to  his  temperament,  cannot  efface  ;  for  since  a  more 
humane  treatment  is  afforded  to  the  race,  constant  examples 
of  good,  benevolent  and  liberal  actions  embellish  their  conduct, 
even  more  than  in  the  feudal  ages  their  learning  and  research 
illustrated  their  mental  capacities. 


THE    BABYLONIANS,   CHALDEES,    AND    ASSYRIANS. 
The  nations  now  to  be  considered,  though,  differing-  among 

7  O  DO 

themselves,  were  evidently  all  of  one  family,  obscurely  traceable 
to  eastern  Armenia  and  Atropatene,  whence,  as  they  spoke 
dialects  of  Semitic  languages,  it  is  evident  that,  like  the  Arabs, 
they  had   come  originally  from   the  high  lands  in  the  east. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  379 

They  were,  moreover,  advanced  in  civilization,  had  solar  and 
astronomical  religions,  with  legends  of  Fish-men  Legislators, 
whose  persons  and  doctrines  revealed  a  diluvian  reminiscence, 
distorted  into  Indian  forms.  In  their  record,  the  first  disper- 
sion of  mankind  was  transposed  from  the  high  tahle  land  of  Asia 
to  the  new  centre  of  their  own  locality,  in  the  plains  of  Shinar. 
Shinar  maybe  a  repetition  of  the  name  of  Djeen ;  and  the 
Bab,  that  is,  Ghaut,  Gate,  or  Pass,  was,  perhaps,  transferred  to 
the  collateral  signification  of  a  tower.* 

For  the  pyramidal  temple  of  Belns,  still  visible  among  the 
ruins  of  historical  Babylon,  has  more  than  one  counterpart  in 
Persia,  little  inferior  in  magnitude :  that  particularly  of  Bara- 
dan,  situated  on  the  mountain-chain,  near  the  upper  Diala, 
almost  south  of  Lake  Van,  is  remarkable.  The  remains  are 
of  disintegrated  brick;  and  the  summit  170  feet  high,  or  only 
28  feet  less ;  but  it  is  GOO  feet  in  base,  or  100  more  than  Birs 
Nimrood.t  near  the  Euphrates.  The  Babylonian  unquestiona- 
bly had  four  towers  at  the  angles  of  the  summit,  and  a  broad 
terrace  on  one  of  its  faces,  with  probably  a  central  space 
between  the  towers  for  fire  worship.  It  had  walled  enclos- 
ures, perhaps  colossal  lions,  at  the  entrances  ;  all  which  seem 
to  have  been  common  with  other  structures  of  the  same  kind, 
and  notably  in  the  Budh  temples  of  Suka  in  Java,  where  every 
one  of  the  foregoing  particularities  exists. 

*  Bab,  Baby,  in  the  most  ancient  sense,  a  giant.  Baby  in  Egyptian, 
Typhon,  Taifune.  It  might  tie  conjectured  that  the  pass,  or,  at  least,  one 
of  the  principal  gorges  for  descending  from  the  plateau  of  Thibet,  across 
the  Bolor  range,  upon  the  sources  of  the  Oxus,  was  originally  meant  ;  for 
at  the  foot  of  this  commence  the  glens  which  lead  to  Bamian  and  to 
Balkh  ;  and  the  summit  is  close  to  Kashgar,  near  Behesh-Kend  ;  in  Ori- 
ental legend  a  city  of  paradise,  seated  in  a  verdant  region,  on  the  Chi- 
nese side  of  the  summit. 

t  Birs  Nimrood,  the  temple  of  Belus,  and  the  temple  of  Nebuchadnez- 
zar, are  the  same  ruins.  The  name  of  "Tower  of  Babel  "  is  originally 
a  rabbinical  inference.  There  are  many  other  applications  of  scriptural 
localities  aid  names  in  the  south-west  of  Asia,  made  at  random  by  the 
Arabs,  who,  like  most  other  Semitic  nations,  having  lost  their  own  tradi- 


380  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

If  (he  Chaldeans  had  been  established  in  a  great  kingdom 
when  Abraham  entered  Canaan,  it  is  unlikely  that  the  Elamite 
Arabs  would  be  sufficiently  strong  to  make  alliances  with  other 
princes,  and  undertake  invasions  to  so  great  a  distance  as  the 
vicinity  of  Jerusalem ;  and  in  the  Egyptian  historical  paintings 
of  the  conquests  of  Sesostris,  and  of  Thothmes  II.  and  III.,  all 
of  which  appear  to  have  been  directed  to  the  valley  of  the  Oxus, 
that  in  these  transactions  there  should  be  no  acknowledged 
representations  of  Babylonians,  or  Chaldeans,  either  as  allies 
or  enemies.  They  first  appear  as  prisoners  captured  by  Tir- 
haka  ;  whence  it  seems  that  either  the  Egyptian  conquerors 
never  proceeded  so  far  east  as  the  Euphrates,  or  that  the  Baby- 
lonian empire  did  not,  at  so  early  a  date  (that  is,  in  or  about 
the  reign  of  Cushan-rishathaim),  embrace  the  upper  course  of 
that  river,  or  of  the  Tigris.*  Regarded  as  a  race,  they  were 
unquestionably  pure  Caucasians  of  the  black-haired  tribes  ;  and 
so  closely  allied  to  the  subsequent  Persians,  that  no  distinction 
can  be  made  between  them,  as  they  are  represented  in  the  bas 
reliefs  of  Persepolis  and  those  of  Nineveh,  lately  brought  to 
light.  They  have  the  same  ample  beards,  and  abundant  curly 
locks,  similarly  trimmed.  The  sculptures  represent  the  same 
symbolical  monsters,  the  same  cuneiform  letters,  the  same  cos- 
tume, the  same  system  of  architecture,  and  the  same  school  of 
design  in  sculpture  —  as  if  little  or  no  alteration  or  progress 

tions  and  history,  frame  new  legends  out  of  the  Scriptures  ;  and  what 
the  Rabbins  only  misplaced,  they  distorted  to  suit  their  particular 
national  vanities. 

*  These  colored  delineations  contain,  however,  a  series  of  nations,  most 
assuredly  representing  tribes  of  high-featured  Caucasians,  and  the  more 
vertical  profiles  of  the  midland  colonies,  which  can  be  traced  from  Indo- 
Koosh  to  Asia  Minor  and  Greece.  There  are  fair-haired  people,  with  a 
blue  round  spot  upon  the  forehead,  like  a  tribal,  or  caste  mark.  They 
are  the  Rebo,  with  ox-hide  mantles,  and  tattooed  skins,  Cyclopians  of 
High  Armenia  ;  and  some  wear  crosses,  perhaps  Budh  amulets  ;  and  the 
Rot-n-no,  a  giant  race,  with  red  beards,  chariots,  horses,  elephants,  bears, 
and  manufactures  in  metals  ;  or  people  of  the  giant  races,  Scyths  or 
FinDs. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  381 

had  taken  place  in  the  national  civilizations,  between  the 
periods  of  splendor  in  Nineveh  and  the  downfall  of  Persep- 
olis.* 


THE    GAUBS   AND    PERSIANS. 

Whether  the  Chaldeans,  or  Chasdim  of  the  Hebrews,  were 
only  hordes  of  robbers  at  the  time  they  are  placed  by  geogra- 
phers in  Arabia  Petnea,  or  whether  they  were  a  distinct  people 
from  the  learned  caste  of  Chaldees  at  Babylon,  is  not  quite 
clear,  though  in  either  case  they  must  still  be  regarded  as 
.nountaineers  before  they  were  established  in  Babylonia.  The 
thysical  characters  of  the  Assyrians,  and  their  locality,  alike 
attest  that  they,  the  same,  or  a  kindred  race,  were  also  moun- 
taineers, who  had  migrated,  by  marching  along  the  flank  of  the 
Caspian  chain,  till  they  established  themselves  in  eastern  Ar- 
menia; but  whether  they  were  allied  to  the  Karduchi,  Kurds 
of  the  present  time,  does  not  appear,  although,  in  Persian  tra- 
dition, the  Gaurs  were  the  first  conquerors  of  Aria  or  Iran. 
The  name,  again,  indicates  mountaineers  or  giants  ;  and  the 
region  whence  they  departed  was  no  doubt  Paropamisus,  or 
the  Gordii  Montes.  In  that  case,  they  passed  most  likely  by 
the  Helmund  to  Lake  Zurra,  and  spreading  over  Aria,  they 

*  The  sculptures  of  Nimrood,  now  in  the  British  Museum,  indicate  a 
more  ancient,  though  not  an  essentially  different  period.  Of  Bactra  we 
have  no  minute  knowledge,  though,  from  the  still  existing  practice  in 
Cabul,  palaces  under  ground  were  no  doubt  likewise  constructed  there, 
where  the  climate  is  still  more  severe  ;  and  the  similarity  of  condition 
with  Nineveh  is  proved  from  the  fact,  that  it  was  at  the  siege  of  Bactra 
Ninus  himself  died.  His  amtiilious  wife,  Semiramis,  succeeded  him, 
and  was  the  conqueror  of  the  Omool  Belaut,  or  "  mother  of  cities,"  once 
the  capital  of  Kai  Kaus,  when  it  was  named  Sarias,  or  Sariaspa?  Future 
research  at  Ecbatana,  that  is,  ahout  the  present  Hamadan,  and  on  the 
sites  of  other  primeval  cities  of  Upper  Asia,  will,  no  doubt,  reproduce 
subterranean  habitations  like  those  of  Nimrood,  and  reveal  conditions  of 
art  more  perfect  in  the  older  than  in  the  subsequent  periods. 


382  NATi  i:\l   BJBT0B1    01 

were  altimately  driven  forward  to  tlio  present  Kurdistan,  prob- 
ably by  the  Persians,  who  in  their  turn  had  been  tenants  of 
Bactria  ;  for  all  the  traditionary  events  of  the  first  dynasty  an 
refern  d  to  the  time  when  they  were  expelled  by  the  Ou-sun, 
fair-haired  tribes  from  Thibet,  or  by  Massagetae  from  the  north.* 
They,  too,  had  traversed  the  Parop&raisus,  and,  following  the 
Helmund,  had  crossed  the  Arian  Desert  to  the  hills  of  Susiana, 
where  they  absorbed  the  Klamite  bowmen;  located  their  sacred 
centre  at  P<  rsagarda,  and,  further  west,  built  Fersepolis.f  where 
the  great  empire  of  Persia  properly  commenced.  The  city 
and  palace  were  constructed  according  to  a  system  of  architec- 
ture already  long  established  at  Zariaspa  or  Bactra,  or  in  con- 
formity with  one  common  to  the  whole  vast  region  of  Nineveh, 
Babylon,  and  High  Asia.  The  ancient  Parsi  language  shows, 
however,  a  certain  affinity  with  the  Assyrian  through  the  Pel- 
hevi,  introduced  by  the  Medes,  and  an  adopted  civilization,  in 
the  use  of  a  cuneiform  alphabet.  This  character  continued  to 
be  used  for  inscriptions  after  the  overthrow  of  Darius,  and  was 
revived  during  the  Parthian  sway,  although  another  dialect, 
namely  the  Zend,  was  spoken  —  a  fact  which  attests  the  pres- 
ence of  a  further  Sanscrit  element,  approaching  still  nearer 
to  the  early  Gothic  of  the  west,  and  a  tongue  even  now  in 
part  mixed  up  with  the  Poushtoo,  used  by  the  Affghans. 
The  Belooches  and  Poushtoo  Affghans,  the  Kurds  of  Kurdis- 
tan, the  Loures,  the  modern  Persians,  and  the  Ossetes  of  Cir- 
cassia,  are  all  branches  of  this  great  stem,  which,  in  ancient 
and  in  more  recent  ages,  has  held  dominion  over  Egypt,  and 
produced  some  men  of  great  military  celebrity  (such  as  Saladin 

*  The  Ou-Sun,  and  Kian-Kncn,  or  Kakas  of  Chinese  writers,  were, 
according  to  Klaproth,  fair-haired  races  within  the  western  borders  of  the 
high  land  chains.  The  Massagetae,  first  known  on  the  outside  of  the  same 
table  land,  gradually  moved  down  to  the  north-west,  and  were  for  a  period 
stationary  on  the  south  and  cast  of  Lake  Aral.  They  were  all  Geta  tribes, 
or  clans,  with  Finnic  intermixture. 

1  If  indeed  Persepolis,  Pasargada,  and  Persagarda,  are  not  the  same. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  383 

the  Great);  geometricians;  and  in  particular,  poets  of  lasting 
reputation. 

THE    TYPICAL    CAUCASIAN-. 

We  now  come  to  the  typical  Caucasian  family,  which  em- 
braces the  greatest  celebral  development  in  width  and  depth, 
combined  with  the  highest  form  of  beauty,  Strength,  and 
power  of  endurance,  coupled  with  a  nervous  system  less 
swayed  by  impulse.  In  this  group  are  found  the  most  per- 
fect notions  of  the  Ideal  beautiful,  of  relative  proportion  in 
art  and  in  literature,  of  logic  and  of  the  mathematical  sci- 
ences in  general.  The  skull,  though  somewhat  lower  in  the 
dome,  is  broader  in  proportion  than  the  Arab  and  the  Hebrew, 
more  developed  at  the  forehead,  making  that  line  more  con- 
tinuously vertical  down  the  nose,  which,  in  the  finer  specimens, 
is  not  aquiline,  but  straight.  The  complexion  is  clear  brown, 
with  mostly  dark-brown  hair,  passing  to  auburn,  generally 
straight,  the  beard  full,  the  chest  ample  and  deep,  the  loins 
small,  the  gait  erect,  and  the  tread  martial.  It  is  here  that 
female  beauty  is  possessed  of  the  highest  human  loveliness, 
grace,  and  delicacy;  and  the  manly  character  attains  the  most 
majestic  and  venerable  aspect. 

The  primeval  focus  of  the  family  is  traced  up  to  the  high- 
est glens  of  Hindu-Koosh,  the  real  Imaus  and  Caucasus  of 
antiquity.  In  that  region,  or  possibly  still  higher,  in  the  most 
elevated  portion  of  ancient  Turan,  the  Cassio-regio  of  Thibet, 
Cassar,  or  Cashgar  of  Marco  Polo,  it  is  that  we  must  place  the 
primeval  point  of  departure;  for  there,  in  a  verdant  fruitful 
region,  a  Behesh,  or  Paradise,  according  to  Iranian  nations, 
is  placed  Ardukcnd,  Ordukend,  still  more  anciently  Arthur- 
keind,  and  now  known  as  Behetseh  Keng  or  Keind.  It  has 
still  ruins  of  arched  avenues,  the  work  of  ancient  kings,  and 
the  locality  is  on  the  caravan  road,  on  the  north  side  of  the 
plateau  of  Pamere,  eastward,  going  by  Cashgar  to  China ;  and 


384  NATURAL   BTJ3T0BY   Of 

westward,  down  the   Bolor  range  to  Hindu-Koosh  and  Balkh. 
In  these  mountain  ri  Kaufir  of  the  present  time  retains 

the  full  vigor,  indej  .  and  beauty  of  his  earliest  pro- 

genitors, notwithstanding  that  he  is  hunted  like  a  wild  I 
by  Moslem  half-bred  tribes,  and  debarred  all  access  to  more 
civilized  nations.  His  similarity  to  the  ancient  Greek  nations 
is  so  striking,  that  it  was  believed  the  hardy  mountaii 
were  a  relic  of  a  Macedonian  army  left  in  the  country  ;  nor 
was  the  supposition  a  wild  fancy,  since  dynasties  of  Greek 
priii  x'S  have  ruled  in  Bactria,  and  in  Candahar  for  several 
centuries  after  the  memorable  invasion  of  Alexander  the  Great. 


Tin:  KATJFIBS,   OB  MAMOQES.* 

Ir  is  in  the  fertile  glens  of  lofty  ridges  of  pine  forest,  forming 
a  portion  of  Hindu-Koosh  and  Beloot  Tauch,  that  this  people 
resides,  though  as  yet  little  known.  The  true  national  denomi- 
nation of  it  is  not  even  certain,  and  instead  we  are  obliged  to 
rest  contented  with  the  Mahommedan  vituperative  term  of 
Kaufirs,  or  infidels,  which  the  Affghans  use  to  designate  idola- 
ters. They  divide  them  into  Speen,  or  white,  and  Seeapush, 
or  Tor  Kautirs,  merely  because  one  is  habitually  clothed  in 
white  cotton,  and  the  other  in  black  goat-skins.  The  people  is 
divided  into  a  multitude  of  independent  clans,  living  peaceably 
together,  but  in  unceasing  war  with  the  Moslem,  much  like  the 
Montenegrins  in  Europe,  who  carry  on  an  exterminating  con- 
test with  the  Turks.  The  Speen  Kaufirs,  having  Little  Thi- 
bet on  the  north,  Ladauk  east,  the  Punjaub  south,  and  Poushtoo 
west,  have  to  guard  themselves  only  on  the  side  of  the  four 
passes  leading  from  the  Punjaub,  one  from  the  Affghan  side  on 
the  west,  and  two  from  the  north,  there  being  none  on  the  east. 

*  Of  the  four  original  tribes,  the  Mamoges  alone  retained  the  primitive 
manners ;  the  Camoze,  Hilar,  and  Silar,  becoming  Mahommedans,  and 
mixing  with  other  Islamized  nations. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  0&> 

By  the  direction  of  these,  migrations  had  easy  communication 
from  Thibet,  and  towards  Cabul,  or  down  the  Oxus  as  well  as 
the  Indus.  The  Seeapush  appear  to  be  still  more  remote,  and 
may  extend  to  Cashmere.  These  tribes  are  remains  of  a  con- 
siderable people,  among  whom  were  the  original  Cashmerians, 
and  a  great  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  Badakshaun  and  Cabul, 
as  far  south  as  the  Deggaun  tribes,  and  on  the  southern  face 
of  the  higher  ridges  of  Himalaya,  extending  eastward  to  an 
unknown  distance  ;  for,  at  the  sources  of  the  Jumna  and  Bun- 
derpoosh,  clans  of  Bisharecs  are  blue-eyed,  and  often  have  red 
hair;  but  nearly  the  whole  of  these,  being  subjected  by  Mos- 
lem conquerors,  have  lost  their  pristine  individuality  of  national 
character,  though  among  the  Affghan  tribes  of  Cabul,  in  par- 
ticular, it  is  still  not  unfrcquent  to  observe  heads  and  figures 
that  might  serve  for  models  to  sculptors  who  would  portray  a 
Jupiter,  or  a  Mars,  according  to  the  refined  idealism  of  the 
ancient  Greeks. 

The  Kaufirs  have  the  face  oval,  the  brows  well  arched,  and 
the  nose  and  mouth  even  more  refined  than  the  Greek.  They 
are  moreover,  still  fairer,  generally  with  lighter  hair  and  gray 
eyes.  They  defend  their  fastnesses,  whither  they  have  retired 
since  the  Mahommedan  conquest  in  742  of  the  Hegira,  with 
obstinate  valor,  attaching  certain  privileges  to  him  who  slays 
an  Affghan.  They  still  retain  a  rude  idol  stone,  denominated 
Irmtan,  representing  Iinra,  Dagun  or  God,  the  Supreme  Being, 
having  besides  inferior  divinities,  evidently  borrowed  from  other 
nations,  chiefly  from  India.  They  shave  the  hair,  excepting  a 
tuft  in  the  middle,  which,  when  it  is  plaited,  is  exactly  similar 
to  the  older  statues  of  Horus,  when  he  is  holding  the  Egyp- 
tian hoe,  and  recurs  again  on  a  coin  of  Comana,  where  Per- 
seus is  so  figured,  and  again  on  one  of  ancient  Tauris.  It  is 
the  glib  of  the  ancient  Irish.  The  Kaufirs  sit  on  stools,  and 
do  not  squat  like  other  Asiatics.  They  are  vehement  dancers, 
and  a  kind  people. 

Blending  with  the  nearest  black-haired  tribe?  the  Mamoges 
33 


886  NATURAL   HXBTOBY   OF 

may  be  considered  to  have  formed  the  ancient  Persians,  and 
with  the  fair-haired  on  the  north,  produced  the  handsome  tribes 
of  the  earliest  Goths;  for  immediately  towards  the  west  the  line 
of  migration  through  Cabul  is  found  interrupted  by  invaders 
from  both  sides,  and  history  is  full  of  the  contests  which  very 
different  nations  have  maintained  in  that  region.  There  are 
even  now  found,  upon  this  line,  remaining  tribes  of  Persians, 
Usbeks,  Toorkees,  Mokrees,  Reekas,  Kalmucks,  Arabs,  Kir- 
guise,  Hindoos,  Punjaubees,  Cashmerians  and  Lesghis,  which 
last  are  among  those  most  nearly  allied  to  the  primeval  stock; 
for,  after  traversing  the  space  disturbed  by  migrating  collisions, 
chiefly  Turkoman,  we  find  these  and  the  Circassians,  Abas- 
sians,  Georgians,  Albanians,  &rc,  likewise  refugees,  in  the 
highest  glens  of  the  Caspian  Caucasus;  and,  in  remote  a^es, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  some  of  them  once  extended  along  the 
southern  coast  of  the  Caspian  and  Georgia,  onwards  to  the 
Borysthenes,  and  through  Asia  Minor  to  the  mountains  of 
Thessaly  and  Greece. 


THE    CIRCASSIAN    AND    GEORGIAN    TRIBES   OF   THE   CASPIAN 

CAUCASUS. 

While  others,  coming  more  from  the  north,  with,  as  it 
appears,  a  portion  of  Finnic  blood  in  their  veins,  held  posses- 
sion of  the  plains  on  the  Kouban  and  the  Don*  these  extended 
westward,  in  the  Crimea,  and  along  the  shores  of  the  Euxine, 
until  they  were  in  part  swept  onwards,  and  partly  driven  back 
to  take  shelter  in  the  fastnesses  they  now  hold.  The  Don 
Cossacks  are  of  the  same  stem,  for  although  all  the  tribes  are, 
in  various  proportions,  of  mixed  origin,  the  typical  form  is 
always  evident. 

*  Although  the  banks  of  the  Borysthenes  are  known  to  have  been  suc- 
cessively inhabited  by  Alans,  Goths,  Geti,  Cumans,  Polowtses,  and  Rox- 
olani,  the  antiquities  known  to  have  been  the  work  of  Circassians  are  still 
found  scattered  through  the  country. 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  887 

The  women  of  Circassia  are  beautiful,  probably  the  most 
beautiful,  in  features  and  complexion,  of  the  whole  earth. 
They  have,  often,  light  hair  and  blue  eyes,  tall,  graceful,  and 
erect  forms,  with  straight  or  slightly  aquiline  noses,  well  formed 
lips,  and  beautiful  teeth  ;  while  the  men  justly  pride  themselves 
on  their  broad  shoulders,  slender  waists,  expressive  features, 
stalwart  height,  and  martial  gait.  Indeed,  this  inherent  superi- 
ority of  form  is  so  dominant,  that  the  unceasing  practice  which 
the  Osmanli  Turks  have  of  purchasing  female  slaves  of  this 
race,  has  caused  them  to  have  become,  from  the  most  ill-shaped 
and  wretched-looking  of  barbarian  Mongolcs,  a  people  that 
can  now  dispute  the  palm  of  beauty  with  the  handsomest  of 
Europe. 

For,  and  with  these  nations,  commencing  in  Central  Asia, 
Kaufirs,  Affghans,  Georgians,  Circassians,  Cossacks,  tribes  of 
Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Rome,  and  the  Gothic  people  of  the  north, 
on  to  the  west  of  Europe,  there  are  ever  sympathetic  feelings, 
an  enduring  interest,  independent  of  religious  motives,  political 
considerations,  cr  commercial  purposes.  In  England,  espec- 
ially, we  feel  for  them  more  than  curiosity,  travel  among 
them,  overlook  or  palliate  their  barbarism  ;  nay,  so  strong  and 
deep  is  the  inclination,  that  among  British  captives  made  dur- 
ing the  disastrous  winter  months  in  Cabul,  most  spoke  highly 
of  the  urbanity  they  had  experienced  ;  several  of  the  softer  sex 
felt  unwilling  to  be  released ;  and  some,  it  is  said,  actually 
escaped  from  those  who  were  to  restore  them  to  their  homes. 
Nothing  but  original  consanguinity  could  reproduce  such  effects. 
To  that  cause  alone  we  must  ascribe  the  long  duration  of  a 
Macedonian  monarchy  subsisting  for  so  many  generations 
among  the  most  warlike  people  in  existence  ;  and,  in  more 
modern  times,  that  the  fierce  bigotry  of  Islamism  has  not  oblit- 
erated that  tendency  ;  for,  beyond  this  line  of  consanguinity, 
the  Tahtar  race,  now  in  possession  of  Thibet  and  Bokhara,  or 
the  Arab  on  the  south,  never  excite  similar  affections,  nor  feel 
themselves  yearning  for  approximation. 


388  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 


THE    PTLASUIAN,    DORIAN,    AND    HELLENIC    TRIBES. 

Although  Ionia  or  Asia  Minor  wai  visited  from  the  most 
early  period  by  nations  coming  from  the  east,  some  by  a  north- 
ern, and  others  by  a  southern  route,  we  may  regard  the  popu- 
lation in  general  as  emanating  from  the  foregoing,  and  in 
particular  tlie  Pelasgian  and  the  Dorian  tribes,  which,  how- 
ever, may  have  been  mixed  with  a  proportion  of  Getic  clans, 
such  as  the  Phrygian  undoubtedly  were. 

It  is  likely  that  the  Carians  were  similarly  of  a  mixed  origin 
of  the  same  source,  as  they  were  remarkable  for  the  hoarse 
guttural  language  they  spoke,  and  the  resolute  determination 
they  evinced  in  the  defence  of  their  country.  As  colonists 
they  had  brought  with  them  elements  of  civilization  more 
advanced  than  the  Grecian  of  the  same  era,  and  science  in 
the  art  of  war  that  made  them  more  than  respected  by  the 
Egyptian  power,  which,  indeed,  had  warred  with  them,  but 
appears  to  have  preferred  to  have  them  as  allies.  They  seem 
to  have  possessed  the  whole  valley  of  the  Meander  long  after 
the  adjoining  tribes  had  been  driven  onwards,  probably  because 
the  volcanic  territory  at  the  sources  of  the  river  afforded  sites 
for  strongholds  which  guarded  the  passes.  They  and  the 
Lycians  had  connections  with  the  Leuco  Syri,  as  well  as  with 
the  Greek  Pelasgians  ;  and  some  such  remote  affinity  may 
have  been  the  basis  of  the  claim  to  consanguinity,  which,  ages 
after,  appears  to  have  been  allowed  between  the  Hebrews  and 
the  Spartans,  as  is  attested  by  Joseph  us. 

Among  the  expelled  nations,  the  Hellenes  may  have  been 
the  foremost  who  crossed  the  Bosphorus,  and  made  conquests 
of  the  possessions  then  held  by  a  Finnic,  or  Illyrian  race, 
which,  as  myrmidons  and  helots,  we  have  already  noticed  ;  for 
that  these  were  in  anterior  possession  of  the  soil  is  attested  by 
their  subjugation,  and  by  the  name  of  the  river  Alpheus,  evi- 
dently derived  from  the  Finnic  Alf,  a  mountain  torrent. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  389 

The  Hellenic  tribes  could  not  have  been  long  in  the  land 
before  the  great  swarming  commenced  on  the  seas  and  coasts 
of  Eastern  Europe.  Besides  the  Cyclopeans,  who  left  walls 
of  their  work  from  Van  in  Persia  westward  to  Sicily,  and  the 
Punes,  or  Phoenicians  already  mentioned,  others,  like  the  Cad- 
means,  Etruscans,  and  Colchians,  wandered  along  the  shores, 
from  beneath  the  high  lands  of  the  present  Abassia,  or  came 
under  Ionian  Taurus  to  the  Mediterranean,  all  similarly  bent 
upon  forcing  a  landed  possession  for  themselves,  and  su!>n>t- 
ing  meantime  as  sea-roving  pirates.  The  names  of  the  Cen- 
taurs and  Lapithce  indicate  confusion  in  the  Greek  reminis- 
cences ;  for,  although  they  explained  the  first  to  have  been 
horsemen,  it  is  more  likely  that  they  were  ox-riders,  such  as 
have  been  already  mentioned  in  Africa  and  India,  and  that  their 
name  has  passed  to  a  second  invasion  of  real  cavalry. 

But  the  Thraco-Pelasgians,  the  ITeraclidae,  and  Acbaei, 
seem  to  have  been  Celto  Scylha?,  that  is,  likewise  of  Illyiian 
or  Geto  Finnic  affinity,  belonging  to  the  giant  races,  who,  as 
far  as  regards  the  two  first  mentioned,  came  round  from  the 
Kouban  and  Don,  along  the  shores  of  the  Euxine,  and  then 
sought  conquests  towards  the  south,  as  all  the  more  northern 
nations  were  impelled  to  undertake.  On  their  own  national 
origin,  the  accounts  by  Greek  writers  are  confused  and  contra- 
dictory regarding  the  sources  and  movements  of  the  different 
tribes  of  the  nation  ;  and  vanity  claims  aboriginal  possession 
they  were  only  early  conquerors.  They  commemorate 
Pelasgian  and  Dorian  invasions  coming  from  the  north,  while 
they  do  not  seem  to  acknowledge  that  the  anterior  Hellenic  col- 
onists were,  like  the  myrmidons  and  other  tribes,  a  vanquished 
people,  who  may  have  had  Finnic  consanguinities.  The  pres- 
ence of  tribes  from  the  Asia  Minor  region  is  shown  in  the 
Cretan  colonies  settled  in  Greece,  and  in  the  Cretan  people 
themselves,  who  could  not  have  reached  that  island  more 
conveniently  thin  by  crossing  from  Caria,  by  Rhodes  and 
33* 


390  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

Carpathos  ;  for  even  the  maritime  shore  of  Caria  was  called 
Doria. 

Notwithstanding  that  polished  Greece  claimed  to  be  in  the 
centre  of  the  world,  and  assumed  for  itself  the  discovery  of 
almost  every  element  of  knowledge  and  civilization,  it  had  a 
secret  pride  in  the  pretence  that  the  Cadmeans  and  Thebans 
were  colonies  from  Egypt;  and  it  may  be  conceded,  that  in  the 
wanderings  of  the  parent  clans  of  those  denominations,  they 
had  been  to  the  south  so  far,  as  to  remain  for  a  period  in  the 
then  unclaimed  marshes  of  the  Delia,  or  had  resided  some 
time  on  the  coast  of  Palestine  or  Syria,  which  was  on  many 
occasions  considered  as  a  portion  of  Egypt.  But  on  the  banks 
of  the  Nile  no  civil  war,  historically  known,  brought  vanquished 
fugitives  to  the  north  ;  they  fled  to  Abyssinia,  or  westward 
towards  Cyrene.  No  true  Egyptian  was  ever  known  to  travel 
northward,  though  Greek  students  and  philosophers  constantly 
went  in  search  of  knowledge  to  the  regions  of  the  Nile,  or 
eastward  even  to  the  Indus.  The  slight  resemblance  of  the 
Greek  Theban  rites  with  those  of  Egyptian  Thebes  was  more 
likely  a  consequence  of  Hellenic  importation;  and  the  Cad- 
mean  Python  worship  was  derived  from  the  same  source  as 
the  Colchian  and  the  Celtic,  that  is,  came  direct  from  the  east. 
The  alphabet  was  totally  distinct,  and  the  language  of  Cadmus, 
if  not  Semitic,  was  allied  to  Sanscrit. 

The  Pelasgi,  more  properly  so  called,  had  resided  on  the 
coast  of  Asia  Minor.  If  we  take  a  Celto  Scythic  dialect  to 
have  been  in  use  among  them,  the  tribal  names  of  Cranai  in 
Hellas,  as  well  as  that  of  Cieropidse,  might  have  reference  to 
their  migratory  life  in  boats,  while  the  general  appellation 
may  have  indicated  the  character  they  assumed  of  heroes  or 
champions,  it  being  alike  traceable  in  the  Pelhevi,  Pelwan,  and 
the  Celtic  Pulvan,  although,  if  the  denomination  had  a  more 
Gothic  root,  the  Pelasgi  would  merely  denote  skin-clad  Asi, 
nearly  the  same  signification  as  that  of  Seeapush  Kaufir,  and 
peltry-wearing  heroes — a  term   in   later  ages  applied  to  the 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  391 

G:ths  themselves.  The  Achsei,  though  they  claimed  to  be  of 
the  Pelasgian  family,  and  the  oldest  of  Greek  colonists  in  Eu- 
rope, came  from  the  Mceotic  estuary  near  Colchis.  They 
were,  as  the  name  indicates,  serpent  worshippers,  or  builders  of 
Dracontia,  like  the  Cadmeans,  the  Colchians,  and  other  nations 
of  Asia  Minor. 

THE    TIRYXTHIAXS. 

The  Tirynthians,  referred  to  the  Cyclopean  race,  seem  to 
have  been  a  still  more  early  clan  of  the  Pelasgian  family ; 
and  it  may  be  remarked  that  a  fair-haired  nation,  with  a  blue 
round  tribal  spot  painted  between  the  eyebrows,  is  represented 
on  Egyptian  monuments,  wearing  mantles  of  peltry,  appar- 
ently cow  hides  —  a  costume  which  corroborates  the  meaning 
of  Pelasgians ;  but  as  they  wear  ostrich  feathers  in  the  hair, 
it  is  evident  that  these  figures  refer  to  clans  who  had  forced 
their  way  to  the  south  of  the  mountain  chains ;  and,  if  they  do 
not  represent  giant  tribes  of  Palestine,  that  they  possessed  ter- 
ritory in  Mesopotamia,  and  belonged  to  that  Teutonic  race 
which  mixed  early  with  the  Arabs  before  noticed.  These 
observations  are  not  opposed  by  the  actions  of  the  legendary 
Hercules  at  Tiryns.  The  Heraclidoe  were  of  the  same  Pelas- 
gian stem;  and  if  the  name  be  a  mutation  of  Erck,  Erk,  they 
may  be  fairly  referred  to  the  Giant  Finns,  whose  tribes  consti- 
tuted the  Tyrhenians,  the  Raseni,  and  the  subsequent  conquer- 
ors of  the  north-west  of  Europe. 

The  Ionian  name  is  of  later  introduction  in  Greece  ;  it  was 
probably  before  known  in  Asia  Minor,  although,  if  we  trust 
Greek  pretensions,  they  carried  it  from  Europe  to  Asia.  The 
European  Greeks  had,  however,  anteriorly  been  known  by  the 
name  of  iEgialeans,  or  coasters,  which  is  an  evident  proof  that 
at  first  they  only  occupied  the  sea  coast,  and,  consequently,  that 
they  had  come  by  water,  and  not  across  the  Danube,  through 
Thessaly.  Among  these,  the  Cretan  colony  led  by  Rhadaman- 
tl  us,  whose  name  indicates  a  Getic  origin,  had  settled  in  Boeo- 


392  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

tia.  Tiryns  itself  was  the  abode  of  fishermen,  and  Argos  was 
built  by  Cyclopeans,  notwithstanding  that  Euripides  calls  it 
Pelasgian.  This  last  name  appears  to  be  more  generical  than 
the  other,  and  to  have  superseded  it,  though  it  is  not  improba- 
ble that  the  Cyclopeans  were  likewise  a  distinct  tribe  of  the 
family  which  was  soon  driven  forward  to  Sicily,  where  we 
have  already  pointed  out  that  they  appear  to  have  been  con- 
nected with  the  Finns  of  High  Asia,  in  their  quality  of  miners 
and  metallurgists.  In  connection  with  the  kindred  Siculi, 
they  had  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Italy,  and  with  the  Sicani, 
another  clan  of  the  same  stock,  had  penetrated  to  Liguria  and 
Spain.  In  Greece,  the  Pelasgians  appear  to  have  constituted 
the  chief  portion  of  the  historical  dominant  population.  They 
were  most  numerous  in  Thessaly.  The  Perhasbians,  Caucones, 
Dolopians,  Athamanes,  the  Helli,  and  Graii,  on  the  west  coast 
of  Epirus,  were  Pelasgi.  The  Pasonian  and  the  Cecropian 
Athenians  were  of  the  same  stock.  In  the  peninsula  they 
were  known  by  the  names  of  Argives,  Achaians,  and  Arca- 
dians. They  built  more  than  one  Argos;  and  if  the  name  of 
Larissa  is  to  be  taken  as  a  sure  indication  of  their  presence,  they 
would  be  found  extended  from  Nineveh  to  the  confines  of  Egypt, 
Spain,  and  Southern  Germany.  There  were  Pelasgians  in 
Crete,  and  the  western  tribes  of  the  race  had  Finnic  affinities 
in  Upper  Italy,  not  less  than  at  least  a  partial  community  of 
opinions  and  speech  with  the  Celtic  and  Scytho  Celtic  nations. 
In  Syria  they  may  have  constructed  the  enormous  ramparts 
of  Tortosa  with  stones,  some  of  which  are  not  less  than  thirty 
feet  in  length,  by  ten  or  twelve  in  thickness,  and  at  so  remote 
a  date  that  the  place  is  named,  in  Genesis,  by  the  designation 
of  Arpad,  or  Arvedi,  (chap,  x.) 

Thrace,  Macedonia,  and  Thessaly,  being  all  to  the  north  of 
Greece  properly  so  called,  and  west  of  the  Bosphorus,  nations 
moving  to  the  south  came  across  the  Danube,  from  Dacia,  as 
well  as  from  Asia  Minor,  without  the  route  of  their  movement 
being  known  in  Greece.     Many  came  westward  in  fleets  of 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  393 

canoes,  from  the  Euxine  and  the  coasts  of  Asia  Minor,  by 
Rhodes,  Carpathos,  Casos.and  Crete,  and  therefore  they  became 
greatly  mixed  by  the  captives  they  made  in  piratical  wars,  as 
well  as  by  peaceful  alliances.  The  noble  typical  races  that 
had  come  direct  from  the  east,  had  been  broken  in  upon  dur- 
ing the  march  by  northern  and  by  southern  wanderers,  and 
forced  to  deviate  from  the  line  of  progress  by  deserts,  inland 
seas,  and  chains  of  mountains.  Still  the  characteristic  supe- 
riority of  aspect  remained,  even  to  the  furthest  marine  colo- 
nies they  carried  to  eastern  Italy,  and  to  Massilia  in  Gaul ; 
and  their  intermixture  was  a  further  cause  of  the  high  civili- 
zation they  soon  attained  ;  for  national  prejudices  broke  down 
by  communion  with  other  tribes,  and  the  bigotry  of  conflicting 
superstitions,  unable  to  establish  particular  supremacy  for  one, 
adopted  a  general  amalgamation  of  the  whole.  Hyperborean 
gods  and  Egyptian  gods  were  blended.  The  recondite  sym- 
bols, pregnant  with  meaning  in  the  east,  became  west  of  the 
Hellespont  mere  fables  and  physical  personifications,  attractive 
to  a  people  petulant  with  a  luxuriant  fancy,  and  so  elegant  in 
poetical  worship,  that  it  passed  to  other  and  more  gross  condi- 
tions of  society,  such  as  the  northern  Africans  and  the  Ro- 
mans ;  it  spread  among  Celtse,  Iberians,  and  Getee  ;  all  striving 
to  recognize  their  own  divinities  in  the  disguised  physicalities 
that  came  thus  recommended  from  a  polished  people. 


THE   ROMANS. 

The  western  Pelasgians,  sometimes  considered  as  the 
descendants  of  two  great  colonies  coming  from  Thessaly  and 
Arcadia,  penetrated  very  early  to  Italy,  a  land  which  looms  on 
the  horizon  from  the  heights  of  Acroceraunus.  In  both  coun- 
tries we  detect  the  same  names  of  tribes  and  places,  such  as 
Chaones,  Elysinians,  Siceles,  Acheron,  Dodona,  Pandoria,  &c. ; 
and  if  we  judge  the  affinity  of  nations  by  their  mode  of  build- 
ing with  huge  stones,  even  the  Etruscans  were  in  part  of  this 


394  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

stocrf,  the  rest  being  Illyrian  or  Finnic,  as  we  have  already 
noticed.  The  Pelasgian  element,  no  doubt,  furnished  the  basis 
of  all  the  arts  and  legends,  which  we  find  they  possessed  in 
an  eminent  degree;  and  the  huge  stone-built  ramparts  of 
many  cities  in  Italy,  as  well  as  Epirus,  Greece,  Crete,  and 
Asia  Minor,  attest  the  work  of  kindred  civilization.  Among 
these,  Rome  itself  was  a  frontier  fortress  in  the  Campania,  not 
improbably  known  by  a  name  equivalent  to  Valentia,  before  it 
received  the  present  denomination,  which,  it  may  be  observed, 
means  the  same  thing  in  one  of  the  dialects  spoken  among 
the  Latin  tribes.  Valentia  was  probably  derived  from  the 
same  root  as  Valum  and  the  Teutonic  Walle.  The  Pelasgians 
left  also  colonies  at  Norba,  and  among  the  Volsci,  Hernici, 
Marsi,  and  Sabini,  tribes  having  all  names  and  characteristics 
of  a  Getic  infusion  in  their  dialects,  and  indications  which 
show,  like  the  first  named  in  particular,  affinity  with  the  Bclgic 
Gauls,  chiefly  with  the  Volsci,  Tectosages,  and  Arecomici. 
The  word  Volsci,  Velkre,  Wilci,  Teutonic  Volke,  is  generical 
for  people;  and  the  different  tribes  had  each  a  particular  desig- 
nation. That  of  Italy  was  known  by  the  appellation  of  Aurunci, 
from  Awe,  the  Vale,  or  open  country;  and  the  two  others,  as 
above,  had  names  equally  resolvable  into  Teutonic  meanings. 
Nor  is  this  singular,  since  Teutames  is  the  oldest  known  hero 
of  the  Pelasgian  race  who  ruled  on  the  coast  of  Caria;  and 
Hera,  a  goddess  revered  at  Samos,  may  denote  simply  the 
Lady,  and  be  the  same  as  Hertha,  Ertha.or  Orsiloche,  in  Tau- 
ris.  There  are  the  names  of  Circe  (Kirke),  and  Falaces,  the 
double  divinity  and  pillar  gods  of  a  great  number  of  nations ; 
with  many  others,  all  derived  from  Getic,  or  Teutonic 
dialects.  The  Romans,  properly  speaking,  did  not  com- 
pose a  homogeneous  race.  They  were,  still  more  than  the 
Greek  people,  a  compound  of  many  tribes,  it  is  true,  more  or 
less  remotely  allied,  but  still  concentrated  on  the  Tiber  from 
distant  quarters,  the  result  of  distinct  colonies  and  successive 
arriv.  Is.     Among   these,   the    so-called    Trojan   basis    of  the 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  895 

Roman  population  is  not  more  authentic  than  that  of  Ante- 
nor  on  the  coast  of  the  Adriatic,  though  popular  legends  are 
seldom  without  some  basis  of  truth ;  and  that  Asia  Minor  con- 
tributed several  tribes  of  migrators  to  different  parts  of  Italy, 
can  scarcely  be  disputed. 

Of  all  the  Roman  nobility,  the  Julian  family  alone  was  con- 
sidered to  be  of  indigenous  origin ;  the  rest  were  Pelasgi, 
Etruscans,  Sabines,  Siculi,  and  others  from  the  hills,  whose 
parentage  is  unknown.  Although  they  were  mixed  with  fair- 
haired  tribes,  the  aspect,  profile,  and  structure  of  the  Roman, 
has  greater  resemblance  to  the  Persic  aquiline-featured  race 
than  to  a  Celto  Scythic  type,  notwithstanding  that  the  Arabian 
name  for  the  people,  probably  derived  from  the  appearance  of 
the  majority  of  the  foreign  garrisons  in  the  eastern  empire,  in 
general  composed  of  northern  levies,  was  Be?ii  Asfar,  that  is, 
fair-haired,  "  as  of  Esau."  If  any  relics  of  the  Roman  physi- 
ognomy be  now  traceable  within  the  boundaries  of  the  once 
mighty  state,  they  must  be  sought  among  the  mob  population 
of  the  city  beyond  the  Tiber,  known  as  the  Transteverini ;  fo 
they  still  bear  the  animal  square-built  form,  observable  in  the 
statues  of  ancient  Romans,  with  the  aquiline  features  and  deep- 
set  eyes,  bespeaking  power  and  daring.  Elsewhere  they  have 
vanished,  and  they  never  can  have  been  numerically  prominent 
where  there  was  more  of  a  class  population  than  a  real  nation- 
ality;  Rome,  during  the  degradation  of  the  empire,  becoming 
a  city  of  foreigners,  and  the  older  civic  inhabitants  scattered 
over  every  part  of  the  empire,  in  search  of  lucrative  office,  or 
possessing  all  excepting  the  military,  which  was  exclusively  in 
the  hands  of  strangers.  The  true  Romans  had  therefore  disap- 
peared before  the  state  itself  was  extinguished,  and,  even  in 
Constantinople,  scarcely  a  family  of  Roman  descent  appears 
prominent  during  the  eastern  empire. 


896  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 


TUB    CELTIC    NATIONS, 

Often  designated  by  the  appellation  of  Gomerians,  may  be 
regarded  as  amongst  the  very  earliest  migrators  that  left  the 
high  lands  of  central  Asia,  and  moved  not  only  in  tribes  towards 
the  west,  but  likewise,  as  we  have  before  shown,  penetrated  to 
the  extremity  of  India  ;  and  if  we  accept  as  theirs  the  monu- 
mental structures,  composed  of  very  large  stones,  placed  in  a 
particular  form,  such  as  are  exemplified  by  what  are  known 
in  Europe  by  the  term  Druidical,  they  certainly  visited  the 
South  Seas  and  the  coasts  of  China,  and  penetrated  to  North 
America.  By  what  inducement  they  became  a  nautical  peo- 
ple in  the  east,  and  under  what  denominations  they  were 
known  in  Austral  Asia,  are  questions  probably  beyond  the 
attainment  of  research.  It  is,  however,  rather  singular  that 
the  tribal  appellation  of  Gal  is  common  to  many  clans  of  Aus- 
tralian savages;  and  Galla  is  still  more  extensively  spread  in 
the  east  of  tropical  Africa.  In  the  peninsula  of  India,  we  have 
pointed  out  the  Pandoos  of  remotest  antiquity,  with  their  crom- 
lechs, and  an  Arkite  worship  evinced  in  their  genealogy;  and, 
towards  the  west,  we  have  them  often  greatly  mixed  with  other 
races,  in  Armenia,  Circassia,  Asia  Minor,  Ancient  Greece,  the 
Bosphorus  of  Thrace,  Sarmatia  on  the  Baltic,  in  Scandinavia, 
on  the  Danube,  in  Friesland,  in  Britain,  Gaul,  Italy,  Spain,  and 
Northern  Africa.  They  are  thus  known  by  distinctive  names, 
Celto  ScythaB,  Celto  Cimmerians,  Cymbers,  Belgae,  Vulci,  or 
Volsci,  Centomanni,  Celtiberii,  Gallaici,  Gallati,  Galli,  Galli 
Comati,  Galli  Cisalpini,  Britanni,  Caledonii,  Iberii,  Hiberni, 
with  an  infinite  variety  of  tribal  distinctions,  and  names  of  sub- 
ordinate clans.  Collectively,  they  have  been  named  Gome- 
rians, perhaps  without  sufficient  reason,  though  we  retain  the 
distinction,  so  far  as  relates  to  tribes  of  this  family  anciently 
resident  in  the  south  and  west  of  Asia ;  but  as  there  are  nu- 
merous indications  that  among"  the  first  migratory  tribes  por- 
tions, such  as  the  Cimmerii  and  Cvmbri,  directed  their  course 


THE   HUMAN   SPECIES.  397 

to  the  north-west,  and  mixed,  to  a  great  extent,  with  Finnic 
and  Getic  nations  ;  we  are  desirous  of  distinguishing  them 
from  all  others,  collectively,  as  Celto  Scythse,  or  Celto  Finnic, 
and  more  distinctly,  by  substituting  one  or  the  other  of  the 
above  names.  Their  probable  movement  down  the  Oxus,  and 
passage  to  the  Oural  mountains,  and  thence  by  Russia,  Poland, 
the  Baltic,  Scandinavia,  and  Denmark,  into  Friesland  and  Bel- 
gium, has  already  been  partially  noticed  ;  and  taking  the  so- 
called  Celtic  mode  of  erecting  monuments,  altars,  and  tombs, 
with  huge  stones,  on  the  surface  of  the  earth,  or  hidden  in 
cairns  and  barrows,  as  proof  of  their  presence,  we  have  in 
more  than  one  place  pointed  out  that  they  must  have  been  sea- 
men on  more  than  one  occasion,  have  traversed  great  portions 
of  the  South  Seas,  and  left  the  evidence  of  their  toils  on  the 
coasts  of  China  as  well  as  America.^  That  these  massive 
structures  are  not  the  chance-work  of  races  of  unallied  nations, 
is  plain,  from  the  fact,  that  among  nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty 
cromlechs,  logging-stones,  masses  of  unwrought  rock,  cleared 
away  to  constitute  them  into  colossal  idols,  circles  of  stones, 
parallellitha  of  linear  or  curve-linear  ranges  of  upright  stones, 
single  maen  stones,  mysterious  caves  for  worship  or  initiation, 
shealings,  &c,  the  greater  part  whereof  we  possess  drawings, 
we  find  that  they  are  placed  more  or  less  in  certain  territorial 
regions,  where  they  form  groups  or  lines  leading  from  one  to 
another.  Thus,  in  particular,  those  bearing  the  character  of 
cromlechs  pass  down  the  west  side  of  the  Indus  to  the  sea  ; 
then  divide,  one  line  eastward,  following  the  coast  to  the  Coim- 
batoor  as  before  noticed,  and  further  on  to  China  and  the  islands 
of  the  Pacific;  while  the  other,  forming  two  branches,  one 
follows  the  mountain  chain  to  the  Caspian,  the  other  by  the 
Helinund,  through  the  desert  of  Iran  to  Persepolis,  and  up  the 
Tigris,  till  it  meets  the  first  on  the  high  land  of  Armenia,  where 

*  In  the  atlas  of  Messrs.  Quoy  and  Gaimard  there  are  some  delinea- 
tions of  these  seeming  Celtic  structures  in  the  South  Seas  not  before 
noticed. 

84 


398  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

they  become  directly  referable  to  Cyclopean  and  other  Celto 
Finnic  tribes,  and  pass  from  both  coasts  of  Asia  Minor  along 
the  two  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  up  the  west  coast  of 
Spain,  and  by  the  Alps  and  Cevennes  down  the*  Loire  to  the 
sea,  where  both  unite  again,  and  then  skirt  the  ocean  towards 
the  north,  cross  over  into  Britain,  the  final  extension  ending  in 
Norway.*  With  the  exception  of  a  few  observed  in  the  Uni- 
ted States,  no  monuments  of  this  class  are  detected  in  any 
other  direction.  If  we  now  inquire  from  whence  the  construc- 
tors of  these  peculiar  monuments  originated,  it  is  clear,  that 
tracing  them  back  to  the  points  whence  they  branch  off,  and 
then  further  up  to  the  ultimate  limit  where  they  are  found, 
though  even  then  there  may  be  traces  of  them  not  as  yet  dis- 
covered, we  have  a  proximate  solution  that  they  commence 
either  beyond  the  crest  of  the  central  high  land  of  Asia,  or  at 
least  that  they  are  to  be  found  about  the  Indus,  before  that 
stream  escapes  to  the  open  plain ;  that  is,  again,  about  Hindu- 
Koosh,  and  in  the  vicinity  of  certain  significant  local  names, 
such  as  Penghir  (Pen-y-ghir),  Carura,  &c.,  bearing  Celtic 
meanings.  It  is  the  region  west  of  high  Kashgar,  north-west 
of  Cashmere,  (he  vicinity  of  the  first  known  station  of  the 
Pandoos,  or  Pandei.  It  is  near  the  first  great  central  sacred 
troglodyte  city,  Bamean  (Adrepsa),  and  not  far  to  the  north 
from  the  first  commencement  and  divergences  of  the  character- 
istic cromlechs  ;  for  it  is  along  the  southern  flank  of  the  Paro- 
pamisus  that  they  pass  on  northward  to  Armenia,  while  another 
descends  the  Indus  to  the  sea,  and  thence  branches  both  eastward 
and  to  the  interior  of  Southern  Persia.  From  this  vicinity  we 
find  also  that  the  oldest  pagan  diluvian  legends  have  radiated;! 

*  We  have  thought  it  right  to  repeat  a  part  of  what  had  already  been 
stated  on  this  head,  because  here,  in  particular,  it  connects  the  various 
tribes  of  this  common  family. 

t  Compare  the  third  Avatar,  where  Prithivi  complains  to  Yishnou, 
with  Davies'  "  Celtic  Researches."  Appendix,  "  Preidcevi,"  "Anmon." 
Still  more,  No.  12,  of  ditto,  page  563,  where  some  lines  appear  to  be 
Etruscan. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  399 

for  those  of  America,  of  the  South  Seas,  of  Tahtary,  and 
of  the  north  and  west  of  the  old  continent,  are  all  cognizant 
of  the  Dragon  formula,  the  Dragon  fish,  the  serpent  devour- 
ing the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the  woman,  type  of  reproductive 
animal  nature,  by  which  the  mysterious  doctrine  is  con- 
veyed. 

We  find  the  legends  of  an  Eden,  a  city  of  the  gods,  an 
oasis  of  bliss,  with  its  four  rivers,  equally  mystified  and  dis- 
torted, from  the  Brahmaputra  to  Ireland,  and  a  succession  of 
Ararats,  from  the  Himalaya  chain  to  Snowdon.*  From  India 
to  the  German  Ocean,  there  are  at  least  eleven,  with  a  series 
of  subordinate  localities,  more  or  less  complete,  assimilated  to 
the  narrative  of  the  Pentateuch,  in  proportion  as  the  Hebrew 
Scriptures  had  been  accessible,  and  in  particular  among  the 
Arab  nations,  rekindled  by  the  spreading  of  the  Koran.  In 
point  of  date,  it  is  known,  that  both  in  Italy  and  Britain  the 
Celts  were  possessed  of  the  soil  before  their  husbandry  was 
acquainted  with  either  barley  or  wheat  corn ;  acorns  were  the 
sole  farinaceous  food  then  known.  Greek  and  Latin  classics 
relate  the  travels  of  Ceres,  and  lessons  of  Triptolemus,  as 
well  as  Welsh  poets  the  first  introduction  of  cerealia  in 
Britain. 

Enough  has  been  said  in  former  pages  respecting  the  move- 
ments of  the  most  eastern  branch  of  these  colonists;  their  wars, 

*  Pagan  tradition  scarcely  separates  the  creation  from  the  diluvian 
legends  ;  paradise  from  their  cities  of  the  gods  and  primeval  ahode  of 
man  ;  their  umbilicus,  or  navel  of  the  world,  from  the  mountains  of  God, 
of  the  descent,  of  the  deluge  and  the  ship  ;  a  locality  usually  made  the 
centre  of  the  world,  according  to  the  position  of  each  nation  asserting  that 
doctrine,  and  accordingly  by  each  surrounded  with  sacred  rivers  and  hal- 
lowed localities,  without  therefore  being  in  the  least  scrupulous  about 
Geographical  truth  or  much  coincidence  of  opinion.  Scriptural  commen- 
tators on  the  geographical  relations  of  Assyria  and  Persia  with  the  tiigh 
lands  of  Asia,  have  generally  sought  the  easternmost  in  Armenia  instead 
of  Bacti ia,  though  profane  history  and  research  agree  in  the  fact,  that 
these  two  regions  have  been  in  constant  relations  of  war,  trade,  migration, 
and  conquest. 


400  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

probably  of  several  ages'  duration  in  tbc  peninsula  of  India,  and 
of  others  still  more  remote  in  date,  who  appear  to  have  reached 
the  south-east  coast  of  China,  and  traversed  a  great  portion  of 
the  Pacific.  There  were  others  whose  early  presence  in 
Africa  is  detected  by  a  variety  of  customs  among  the  Abys- 
sinian and  even  Caffre  nations,  which  we  have  likewise  no 
further  occasion  to  mention.  Of  the  tribes  of  Shelluhs  in 
Morocco,  whose  Showiah  dialect  is  asserted  to  retain  many 
Celtic  words,  it  is  not  requisite  to  say  more  than  what  has 
already  been  stated,  excepting  that  the  existence  of  cromlechs 
and  maen  stones  along  the  coast,  such  as  the  Romans  noticed 
by  the  names  of  Philsenian  altars,  and  the  ancients  likewise 
attest  to  have  existed  on  the  island  of  Cadiz,  or  Gades,  in 
Spain,  are  of  themselves  sufficient  proof  of  a  primeval  coast- 
ing progress  along  the  African  shore,  which,  leaving  colonies 
in  Mauritania,  now,  it  may  be,  mixed  with  Shelluh  tribes, 
turned  northward,  marking  its  progress  in  Portugal  by  the 
usual  monuments,  and  by  the  name  of  Portugal  itself,  as  well 
as  that  of  Gallicia  (land  of  the  Gallaici),  where  they  came  in 
contact  with  the  Finns  or  Finno-Celts,  from  the  north,  whose 
progress  we  have  already  mentioned. 

We  now  come  to  the  march  of  the  main  body  of  the  Celtoe, 
from  their  first  departure,  divided  into  two  great  columns, 
one  directing  its  course  to  the  northward  of  west,  and  the 
other  appearing  to  have  followed  the  southern  flanks  of  the 
great  mountain  chain,  through  Armenia  and  Asia  Minor,  to 
Europe.  It  is  this  movement  westward,  of  successive  tribes  of 
the  family,  which  has  commonly  been  designated  as  the  Gome- 
rian.  Josephus  first  made  this  application  to  the  race  in  ques- 
tion from  the  tenth  chapter  of  Genesis.  We  may  retain  the 
name,  without  entering  into  the  truth  of  the  Jewish  historian's 
derivation  ;  particularly  when  restricting  the  meaning  to  the 
portion  of  this  great  stem  which  passed  through  Middle  Asia; 
because  the  word  may  be  construed  to  imply  mountaineers  in 
one  set  of  cognate  languages,  and  in  another  it  may  be  derived,' 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  401 

with  little  mutation,  from  Guorno,  Homo,  which  was  doubtless 
in  use  among-  the  Pelasgians,  a  somewhat  kindred  nation,  that 
passed  and  dwelt  along  the  same  line  of  migration.*  It  sig- 
nifies merely  1:  an  or  men,  the  common  appellation  of  a  multi- 
tude of  ancient  tribes  in  Scythic  dialects,  or  those  which  we 
take  to  be  offspring  of  that  common  tongue  of  High  Asia,  the 
Sanscrit,  before  it  became  a  polished  vehicle  of  knowledge  in 
the  centre  of  the  ancient  world. 

If  the  tribes  which  followed  the  most  southern  route,  such, 
for  example,  as  that  by  the  Helmund,  towards  the  region  where 
Persepolis  and  Susa  were  afterwards  built,  had  black  eyes  and 
curly  hair,  like  every  race  that  came  in  contact  with  the  Ethi- 
opian stern;  those  which  followed  the  course  more  directly 
west,  along  the  flank  of  the  mountains,  where  their  monu- 
ments are  still  visible,  were  more  probably  a  blue-eyed  people, 
with  brown  hair,  and  full  muscular  structure;  nationally 
graziers  (gwallah),  and  possessing  that  basis  of  traditions 
which  they  afterwards  carried  with  them  to  Gaul  and  Britain. 
In  a  pure  state,  or  already  in  commixture  with  tribes  of  Finnic 
origin,  we  find  them  in  Armenia;  tribes  reckoned  among  the 
giant  conquerors,  penetrating  into  Syria  and  Arabia,  and  the 
main  columns  possessing  Colchis  and  Asia  Minor,  where  the 
rivers  Sangarius  and  Gallus  (Halys),  with  other  remote  Celtic 
denominations,  attest  that  they  once  resided.  If  the  Milesians 
have  a  true  claim  to  Celtic  consanguinity,  they  penetrated  to 
the  Borysthenes,  and  built  Olbio,  where  the  sturgeon  fishery, 
corn  husbandry,  and  weaving  fine  cloths  from  hemp,  had 
formed  a  flourishing  community  in  the  time  of  Herodotus,  or 
B.  C.  460.     But  this  date  is  several  ages  posterior  to  the  first 

*  There  are  other  derivations,  or  the  same,  reversing  the  meaning,  as 
is  constantly  ;he  case  in  cognate  languages,  such  as  the  Celtic  Combe,  a 
valley,  and  Tautonic  Kam,  a  crest ;  for  in  both  we  may  have  the  radical 
meaning  of  Cumraeg,  Cymhri,  Cumbers,  Cumbrians,  Cambrians,  Cam- 
brivii,  Cambresians,  Kumbers,  Kempers,  Kempenners,  Kennermers, 
Cimmerians,  &c.     See  also  Cuma,  in  many  localities.  —  Steph.  Byzant 

34* 


402  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

Celtic  irruption  across  the  Taurine  Alps  in  Italy  ;  since  that 
event  preceded  the  conquests  of  the  Gauls,  B.  C.  about  600, 
when  tl.ey  established  themselves  in  the  Cisalpine  territory,  an 
event  which  was  said  to  be  the  consequence  of  over  population 
already  accumulated  in  Transalpine  Gaul,  and  therefore  at 
least  many  generations  after  their  first  arrival.  Over  popula- 
tion certainly  could  not  well  have  been  the  true  cause  of 
expatriation  ;  for  several  whole  tribes  of  Belgas,  and  the  Allo- 
brogi,  had  not  yet  relinquished  the  north  of  the  Rhine  and 
Danube.  Now  these  denominations  in  Theotisk  had  onlv  two 
meanings;  Volke,  as  before  said,  denoting  a  people,  in  contra- 
distinction to  Geschlecht  and  Stam,  which  were  applied  to 
homogeneous  clans  or  tribes ;  and  Gela,  Gaul,  Gael,  by  the 
Celtic  nations  always  understood  to  designate  strangers, 
foreigners,  because  most  probably  they  also  were  partly  mixed 
tribes;  the  same  originally  as  those  who  were  known  by  the 
collective  appellations  of  Belgse,  Centomanni,  Celtomanni,  <Scc, 
and  only  bore  the  general  epithet  of  Gauls  among  the  Celtae 
properly  so  called.  This  appellation  was  pronounced  by  them- 
selves and  the  Teutonic  race,  Wael,  Welsh,  Velsche,  only  a 
dialectical  variation  from  Wilci  (wolves).  If  the  Gelas  of  the 
Caspian  coast  were  of  the  same  stem,  we  have  a  geographical 
indication  that  the  Celto  Scythic,  or  perhaps  Cello  Finnic 
tribes,  extended  so  far  towards  the  north-east  as  the  Araxes ; 
ind  though  the  Phrygian,  Gallae,  the  emasculated  priesthood 
of  the  Syrian  Goddess,  renowned  for  circular  dances  and 
"choral  songs,  may  not  have  been  Gallic  by  race,  the  presump- 
tion is,  that  they,  or  the  institutions  they  observed,  came  from 
the  banks  of  the  above  named  Phrygian  rivers,  where  the 
whole  region  was  at  one  time  Celtic.  To  that  quarter  a  Gallic 
army  from  the  west,  having  ravaged  Greece,  was,  ages  after, 
again  invited,  and  there  the  forces,  so  far  from  wearing  out  in 
a  short  period,  as  armies  invariably  do  on  all  other  occasions, 
they  multiplied  to  a  nation,  which  was  still  flourishing  at  the 
commencement  of  the  Christian  era,  under  the  name  of  Gala- 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  403 

tians.  Though  mutilation  was  not  practised  by  the  Western 
Celtae  who  followed  Druidical  institutions,  the  vociferation  of 
the  many  epithets  of  Hu,  and  the  spinning  dance  "in  graceful 
extravagance,"  according  to  ToJiesin,  was  well  known  to  them; 
they  had  even  the  ecstatic  visions  of  the  Syrian  Galli,  perhaps 
the  very  same  as  the  Howling  Dervishes,  who  repeat  the 
ninety-nine  perfections  of  Allah,  and  their  brethren,  the  twirl- 
ing fanatics  of  the  mosque  of  Ayoub,  who  perform  the  like 
dances,  and  fall  into  similar  fits  of  frenzy  and  exhaustion. 

A  multitude  of  other  coincidences  can  be  traced  relating 
to  the  highest  developed  religious  system  of  the  Celtce  in 
Western  Europe,  the  more  perfect,  probably,  because,  through 
Phoenician  agency,  the  dogmas  of  Palestine  and  Syria  had 
been  carried  westward  rapidly,  and  more  unbroken,  by  nautical 
colonists.  No  doubt  an  intercourse  of  consanguinity  continued 
to  exist  between  both,  since  the  Gtilatians  had  returned  east- 
ward and  established  themselves  a  second  time  in  a  focus  of 
their  ancient  possessions,  where  there  were  around  them  inter- 
minable denominations  of  places  bestowed  by  their  ancestors; 
and  it  is  likely  a  proportion  of  the  population  still  recognized 
them  as  relatives.  The  southern  clans,  having,  in  their  most 
early  communion  with  Indo-Arab  neighbors,  acquired  that 
dialect  which  might  be  termed  Celto  Semitic,  probably  pos- 
sessed the  most  recondite  lore  of  Western  Asia,  reduced  to  a 
homogeneous  system.  It  was  that  which  abounded  in  Hebrew 
or  Syriac  terms :  proceeding  by  sea,  it  carried  the  traditions 
and  philosophy  of  the  east  to  the  coasts  of  Great  Britain, 
destined  to  be  set  up  first  as  indigenous;  later,  to  accept 
numerous  grafts  from  the  same  quarter,  brought  by  Punic 
traders  ;  and,  finally,  to  prepare  the  west  to  accept  the  tidings 
of  the  Gospel  without  that  resolute  opposition  which  Greek 
and  Roman  civilization  so  long  opposed  to  Christianity.  mhe 
Celto  Semitic  race  is  still  distinctly  marked  in  Spain,  Corn- 
wall, and  Wales,  by  a  more  spare  make,  black  curly  hair,  very 
dark   eyes,  and   brown  complexions,  frequently  set   off  with 


404  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

bright  rel  lips.  It  is  a  spirited  race,  gifted  with  the  highest 
imaginative  power,  serious,  thoughtful,  religious,  obstinate, 
attached  to  its  own  nationalities,  and,  though  in  many  cases 
proved  to  have  beon  a  marine  people,  nowhere  really  fond  of  a 
sea  life.  Such  ai  2  the  true  Cymraeg,  the  Siluri  of  Tacitus, 
abounding  in  Wales :  in  Cornwall  they  are  ofttimes  named 
Cadisians,  from  a  legend  that  their  ancestors  came  from  the 
coast  of  Spain ;  and  local  names  indicate  the  antique  presence 
of  Punic  and  Hebrew  colonists  and  mining  speculators,  who 
understood  the  value  of  the  Cornish  ores  so  well,  that,  to  the 
age  of  King  Henry  III.,  Jews  still  were  the  parties  that  farmed 
the  right  of  stream  working  and  mining  from  the  crown.  It 
is  probable  that  the  Hibernian  Coomary,  sea-dogs,  or  seals, 
likewise  connected  with  legends  of  Gallican  origin,  and  the  so- 
called  Milesians,  belong  to  the  same  stock,  notwithstanding 
that  their  remote  ancestors  "may  have  resided  on  the  northern 
shore  of  the  Euxine,  as  before  stated.  The  name  may  even  be 
traced  as  far  as  Bactria,  among  the  present  Rajpoots,  celebrated 
in  the  Rhamayana  for  their  horses ;  and  Khomen  still  reside  at 
the  Bay  of  Cambogia  in  Siam. 

In  Gaul  the  brown-haired  tribes  prevail,  though  dark-eyed 
families  are  exceedingly  abundant,  and  the  whole  are  inter- 
mixed with  Finns,  Alans,  Goths,  Burgundians,  and  Franks, 
who,  nevertheless,  though  they  were  mostly  nations  of  real 
horsemen,  have  never  been  enabled  to  make  the  Celtic  people 
either  in  Italy,  Gaul,  or  Catalonia,  more  than  transitorily 
addicted  to  a  cavalry  life,  or  formidable  for  their  squad- 
rons, notwithstanding  that  the  antique  institution  of  the  tri- 
marchesia,^  and  the  Gallic  Alas  in  the  Roman  service,  seem 
to  prove  the  contrary;  at  all  times  this  species  of  renown  was 
due  only  through  the  Belgic,  Allemannic,  and  Frankish  influ- 

*  Or  three  horsemen  combined  ;  Tri-march-cesec,  a  master  and  two 
attendants,  according  to  Pausanias  ;  but  if  there  was  but  one  horse  and 
two  foot  soldiers,  the  institution  was  bad.  We  must  allow  that  the 
polish  lancers  and  the  Spahis  were  once  formed  upon  this  principle. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  405 

snce  in  the  national  manners.  The  characteristic  temperament 
vas  ever  stimulated  by  momentary  objects,  unsteady,  factious, 
:ften  frivolous,  always  brave,  witty,  and  improvident.  This 
great  stem  of  nations  could  never  permanently  arrest  the 
steady  progress  of  the  Teutonic  and  Getic  tribes,  which 
gradually  forced  them  westward,  then  mixed  with  them, 
became  a  privileged  class  of  rulers,  or  adulterated  the  Celtic 
blood  and  language  ;  such  were  the  Gallic,  the  first  and  second 
Belgic  tribes,  the  Centomanni,  the  Boii,  the  Allobroges,  and 
lastly  the  Cymber  or  Friesonic,  which  were  nearly  pure  Ger- 
mans. The  intermixture,  in  proportion  as  it  increased,  gave 
firmness,  and  those  enduring  qualities  which  finally  arrested 
the  pressure  of  the  Getic  races,  and  they  resembled  them  ill 
person  and  in  language,  as  is  proved  by  the  Franks,  the  Si- 
cambers  and  Frankonians,  or  east  Franks  on  the  German  side 
of  the  Rhine,  and  by  the  Saxons  and  Northmen  in  the  British 
Islands.  After  they  had  been  subjugated  by  the  Romans,  the 
Danube  and  the  Rhine  were  both  wrested  from  them  by  these 
amalgamated  tribes ;  they  sank  before  the  Vandals,  the  Goths, 
the  Burgundians,  the  Franks,  the  Saxons,  and  the  Northmen, 
in  every  quarter  except  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  and  a  por- 
tion of  Ireland.  These,  with  Wales,  a  small  part  of  French 
Bretagne,  and  the  Alpine  Vaudois,  are  now  the  sole  portions 
of  the  race  which  still  retain  the  pride  of  their  nationality, 
their  ancient  language,  and  their  traditions. 

That  they  all  came  from  the  east  is  perhaps  sufficiently 
shown.  We  have  pointed  out  the  routes  followed  by  the  migra. 
tory  columns,  and  their  stations  in  Armenia  and  Western 
Asia;  their  early  blending  with  Finnic  or  Ural-Altaic  tribes, 
probably  on  the  Caspian  coast,  constituting  a  portion  of  the 
Illyrian  branch  of  Eastern  Europe.  They  seem  still  to  retain 
possession  of  a  portion  of  territory  on  the  Danube,  under  the 
name  of  Wallachians  (for  the  claim  of  that  people  to  an  Italian 
or  Roman  origin  is  no  other  than  that  the  Italians  are  denom- 
inated Vfiches  by  the   Southern   Allemannic  and    Sclavonic 


406  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

nations),  though  by  that  name  they  acknowledge  themselves 
actually  to  belong  to  the  Celtic  family.  They  may  be  tha 
Celtae  which  Alexander  found  on  the  Ister,  according  to 
Arrian,  and  be  the  Triballi  of  Roman  history.  Further  on  w;> 
observed  that  wandering  tr  be,  the  Boii,  in  the  present  Bavaria 
the  same  which  once  occupied  Bohemia,  and  left  two  colonie 
in  Gaul,  whereof  one,  seated  at  the  Teste  de  Buch,  near  thi 
mouth  of  the  Garonne,  ha:l  for  hereditary  Vergobret,  rornan 
ized  into  Captal  de  Buch,  Jean  de  Grailly,  the  last  of  the 
family,  who  was,  in  the  reign  of  Edward  III.,  the  fifth  Knight 
of  the  Garter,  at  the  foundation  of  the  order.  This  very  title 
of  Buch,  their  tribal  name  of  Bougers,  and  their  silent  wood- 
land manners,  attest  that  they  were  not  pure  Celts,  but,  like 
other  fair-haired  Boii  of  the  north,  Belgae  or  Semi-Germans.* 
Besides  the  possession  of  Bohemia,  Celtic  tribes  long  held 
Galicia  in  Spain ;  others,  from  the  Tauric  Chersonesus,  passed 
up  the  rivers  and  swamps  of  Sarmatian  Galicia  and  the 
Baltic,  where  they  came  in  contact  with  Illyrian  or  Finnic 
Verieti.  Passing  over  to  Sweden  and  Norway,  they  built  up 
the  usual  monuments  of  their  presence,  and  left  some  portion 
of  their  dogmas  to  the  first  conquering  Getae ;  thence  they 
edged  down  by  the  Cymbric  Chersonesus,  along  the  west 
coast  of  Germany,  and  began  to  force  their  way  into  Northern 
Gaul,  at  least  one  century  before  the  Roman  conquest.  They 
dislodged  the  first  Belgce,  who,  not  finding  space  for  habitation 
on  the  Continent,  formed  the  two  well  known  irruptions  into 
Britain.  They  extended  themselves  along  the  southern  coast, 
reached  the  British  Channel,  and  passed  over  to  Ireland, 
where  they  formed  the  Firbolg  tribes,  who,  at  a  later  period, 
encountered  the  Finnic  Celts  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
island.     Taking  the  Irish  Firbolg  to  be  descended  from  the 

*  In  the  letters  of  St.  Paulinus,  addressed  to  the  poet  Ausonius,  there 
are  some  details  of  the  manners  of  these  Boii.  At  present  they  are  col- 
lectors of  rosin  in  the  pine  forests  of  that  sandy  region,  and  characteristi- 
cally possess  a  breed  of  vigorous  feral  horses. 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  407 

first  Belgic  branch  (that  which  was  expelled  by  the  second 
Belga?,  who  secured  for  themselves  the  sea-coast  and  the  valley 
of  the  Rhine),  we  may  regard  them  as  the  purest  Celtas  now 
remaining.  They  still  much  resemble  the  Vaudois,  die  Illyrian 
Lombards,  and  the  Walloon  population,  even  more  than  that 
of  Lower  Brittany.  The  Irish  are  in  form  athletic,  rather  spare 
and  wiry ;  the  forehead  is  narrow,  and  the  head  itself  is  elon- 
gated ;  the  nose  and  mouth  large,  and  the  cheek-bones  high. 
The  features  are  rather  harsh ;  and  in  character  they  are  fiery, 
brave,  generous  in  their  impulses,  and  very  patient  of  fatigue. 
Intellectually  considered,  they  are  acute,  witty,  ingenious,  but 
beset  with  the  sense  of  drollery  more  than  of  the  true  and  use- 
ful ;  they  are  deficient  in  sobriety  of  thought  and  breadth  of 
understanding ;  they  consequently  want  more  excitement  for 
action  and  enduring  reflecting  power  than  the  Getic  family  of 
nations  seems  to  require.  The  Finnic  Celtas  were  the  first 
northern  marine  wanderers,  who,  having  attained  the  Scottish 
and  Irish  coasts,  constituted  the  Gael  Coch,  or  red-haired  stran- 
gers of  Scandinavian  origin,  and  first  taught  the  pursuing  Getae 
—  in  part  their  kindred  —  to  follow  them  to  the  south,  under 
the  name  of  Northmen  and  Ostmen. 

The  Cymbers  were  perhaps  the  last  colony  from  the  north 
that  had  consanguinity  with  theCeltse;  they  broke  into  Gaul 
B.  C.  108,  penetrated  to  Spain,  and,  in  alliance  with  Teutonic 
tribes,  they  were  at  length  vanquished  in  the  plains  of  Italy, 
after  they  had  destroyed  several  consular  armies.*  In  Britain, 
as  already  stated,  there  were  a  greater  diversity  of  races  than 
is  commonly  admitted,  besides  a  nameless  population  of  sav- 
ages, probably  Finnic,  in  possession  of  the  coast  when  the 
Celtse  first  landed.  There  were  among  these,  and  protected 
by  the  Hedui,  the  Veneti  (Henyd)  and  Ligurians  (Llogrwys), 

*  They  routed,  between  B.  C.  302  and  307,  the  armies  of  Papyrius,  of 
Silanus,  of  Cassius  Longinus,  and  of  Crepio  and  Mallius,  who  were  loaded 
with  the  Celtic  Measures  of  Tolosa,  once  plundered  by  the  Gauls  at 
Grecian  Delphos. 


408  NATURAL   HISTORY   OF 

who,  we  have  shown,  had,  through  their  Ulyrinn  origin,  like- 
wise Finnic  affinities;  the  purer  Celtse,  such  as  the  Morini  and 
the  nautical  clans  coming  from  the  coast  of  Spain,  and  the 
Belgce  of  Semi-Teutonic  origin,  such  as  the  Cantii  and  others 
occupying  the  east  coast  of  Britain.  The  intercommunication 
of  knowledge  and  civilization  among  tribes,  who,  in  different 
parts  of  Asia,  Africa,  and  Europe,  had  been  in  contact  with 
nations  far  more  advanced  in  the  arts  of  life,  some  perhaps, 
with  little  delay,  passing  west  in  their  coracles  the  whole  dis- 
tance from  the  regions  of  Phoenicia  and  Carthage  to  Britain, 
brought  dogmas,  such  as  the  religious  and  moral  dicta  of  the 
Druids  attest.  They  had,  no  doubt,  possession  of  rudiments  of 
literature  and  reminiscences  of  science,  and,  reaching  a  home 
rich  in  mines,  not  only  became  miners  and  metallurgists  —  as 
more  than  one  line  of  their  progenitors  had  been  in  the  east 
and  in  Spain  —  but,  stimulated  by  the  example  of  the  Etruscans 
in  the  arts  of  smelting  ores,  they  must  have  accelerated  the 
progress  of  development,  which  inroads  of  new  hordes,  the 
tendency  to  intestine  factions  and  open  war,  too  often,  and,  in 
the  end,  too  fatally  arrested. 

This  imprudent  irritability  of  temperament  caused  the  Celtic 
races,  notwithstanding  their  military  prowess,  to  be  ever  sub- 
dued and  ruled  by  strangers,  both  in  Asia  and  Eastern  Europe, 
in  Gaul  and  Britain.  Without  reference  to  the  universally 
known  facts  in  history,  we  may  add  one  or  two  more  not  so 
commonly  noticed.  It  was  the  Veneto-British  fleet,  defeated 
by  Caesar's  navy,  off  the  mouth  of  the  Seine,  which  produced 
the  Roman  invasion.*  The  struggles  between  the  Christian 
municipal  towns  of  foreign  colonists  left  by  the  Romans,  and 
the  Pagan  Reguli  of  native  race,  brought  in  the  Caledonians 
and  then  the  Saxons.  So,  again,  the  force  of  12,000  Britons 
under  Prothamus  (Pritham?),  which  crossed  over  to  Gaul  in 

*  It  was  more  likely  a  fleet  of  Gallic  and  British  Veneti  united,  who 
fought  D.  Brutus  in  Quiberon  Bay,  in  order  to  recover  Vannes,  Blavet, 
and  Henneboa,  all  Henyd,  or  Venetic  towns. 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  409 

457  to  support  the  Emperor  (Marjoriam ?),  stripped  the  island 
of  its  trained  defenders,  at  the  time  the  great  Saxon  invasion 
was  in  progress;*  and,  lastly,  we  find  the  name  of  Sawel  ben 
Uchel,  with  his  supporters,  probably  Belgse,  taking  part  with 
the  Saxons  in  the  overthrow  of  their  own  race. 

Language  and  religious  doctrines  were  likewise  different  in 
the  three  great  national  divisions  of  the  Celta?.  In  the  north, 
the  name  of  Druids,  or  rather  Drotne*,  was  a  title  of  civil 
authority,  perhaps  even  more  than  religious;  the  Belgas  had  no 
Druids,  but  Seghers,  speakers  (sacerdotes  of  Tacitus);  nor  was 
the  order  known  in  Cisalpine  Gaul,  nor  in  the  Iberian  posses- 
sions of  the  race.  Druidism  seems  to  have  been  evolved  on 
the  banks  of  the  Loire,  and  acquired  the  higher  doctrines  in 
the  mining  districts  of  Britain,  by  intercourse  with  the  Phoeni- 
cian traders,  until  it  was  ready  to  accept  a  modified  Christian- 
ity, like  that  Aurelius  Ambrosius  entertained,  when  he  assumed 
the  civil  and  military  authority,  with  the  office  of  chief  Druid 
and  that  of  Christian  Bishop  ! 

Though  the  French  nation  of  the  present  time  is  in  its  vast 
majority  of  Celtic  origin,  there  remain  only  the  Bas  Bretons 
who  claim  something  of  a  pure  descent.  The  Waldenses  of 
the  Alps  are  less  distinct.  The  south-eastern  Irish  have  a  just 
claim  to  a  Belgic  origin,  and  the  Cymraeg  of  Wales  to  a  true 
southern  Celtic  parentage ;  while  the  Gael  of  the  Scottish 
Highlands  are  probably  Finnic  Celts,  who  resided  in  Erin,  till 
they  were  obliged  to  retire  before  the  superior  numbers  of  the 
Fir-bolg.t 

*This  expedition  may  have  given  rise  to  the  fabulous  wars  of  Arthur 
on  the  continent.  Prothamus  is  mentioned  by  Jornandes,  Freculphus,  and 
Sigebert  of  Gembloux. 

t  It  may  be  remarked  here,  that  several  Celtic  terms  are  referred  to 
Theotisk  sources,  because  they  belong  to  the  Celto-Cymber  and  Belgic 
tribes,  who,  as  Cassar  asserts,  spoke  a  distinct  language  ;  and  the  ioman- 
ized  names  of  divinities  prove  to  have  been  invariably  of  Teutoric,  not 
Gallic  origin,  from  the  Rhine  to  beyond  the  Scheldt. 

35 


410  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 


THE   GETiE   OR   GOTHIC   NATIONS. 

At  length  we  attain  the  concluding  family  of  nations.  It  is 
that  stem,  which,  though  later  in  reaching  the  Western  Ocean, 
and,  like  the  rest  of  the  tribes  that  peopled  Europe,  though 
compelled  to  forsake  High  Asia,  and  quit  the  east,  was  des- 
tined nevertheless  to  hold  dominion  in  Chinese  Tahtary,  ages 
after  the  other  Caucasian  nations  had  been  expelled  or  exter- 
minated by  the  Mongoles.  They  likewise  were  early  invaders 
of  India,  and  are  no  doubt  of  the  number  of  those  which  the 
Egyptian  kings  Remses  and  Thothmes,  and  the  Assyrian 
Ninus,  vainly  endeavored  permanently  to  subjugate,  notwith- 
standing that  they  had  the  organized  masses  of  great  empires 
at  their  command,  and  the  invaded  mountaineers  could  not 
retreat  towards  the  east.  This  stem  of  nations  was,  as  it  still 
is,  the  tall,  fair,  light,  or  red-haired  portion  of  the  Caucasian 
type,  including  the  giant  races  of  historical  tradition.  It  ven- 
tured, in  the  remotest  ages,  in  small  clans,  or  by  mere  families, 
to  penetrate  far  among  the  dark-haired  nations,  unsupported  by 
numbers,  and  trusting  solely  to  their  fortitude  and  valor.  The 
Mongolic,  the  Ural  Altaic  Finns,  and  the  Indo  Arab  nations, 
have  at  all  times  acted  by  the  weight  of  overwhelming  num- 
bers, therein  differing  from  the  fair-haired  tribes  of  mixed  and 
of  pure  Caucasians,  whose  cool  energy  and  self-reliance  not 
only  takes  little  account  of  numbers,  but  actually  is  the  cause 
of  small  sovereignties,  and  even  permanent  republics,  remain- 
ing independent  to  this  day.  We  have  in  more  than  one  place 
pointed  out  families,  and  clans  of  this  great  stem,  assuming  the 
absolute  mastery  of  swarthy  and  of  dark-haired  nations,  or 
becoming  in  a  collective  form  the  nobility,  the  privileged  class, 
wherever  they  resided.  An  element  of  this  kind,  either  in 
part  Finnic,  or  purely  Getic,  blended  in  the  earliest  population 
of  Greece,  probably  before  the  formation  of  the  kingdom  of 
Argos,  eighteen  centuries  before  the  Christian  era.     The  Her* 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  411 

aclidae  were  of  the  fair-haired  stock,  and  so  was  Theseus,  and 
indeed  most  of  the  demigod  heroes  of  Greece ;  at  least  that 
opinion  in  tradition  is  equivalent  to  an  admission  of  the  fact 
that  the  northern  race  prevailed  among  the  Hellenes  before 
their  historical  era.  They  came  from  Thrace,  from  Asia 
Minor;  and,  in  the  quality  of  marine  swarmers  down  the 
Euxine,  occupied  portions  of  the  coast,  or  passed  on  to  the 
Mediterranean,  to  the  Adriatic,  Gaul,  and  Spain,  where  the 
fabulous  Gerion  is  again  represented  to  have  been  a  fair-haired 
giant.*  All  these  legends  have  a  singular  alliance  in  consist- 
ent uniformity,  reaching  to  Egypt,  and  going  round  and  beyond 
the  Mediterranean  Sea.  Under  the  names  of  Scythians  and 
Tauranians,  we  find,  in  Asiatic  history,  that  they  were  dreaded 
by  all  southern  nations,  even  to  a  single  individual  coming 
amongst  them.  Kindred  nations  of  this  stem  reached  Europe 
without  distinct  accounts  of  their  origin  and  progress;  but  the 
movements  of  others,  at  later  periods,  substantiated  by  Chinese 
writers,  by  Indian  documents,  and  by  Greek  and  Latin  authors, 
who  record  their  arrival  in  the  west,  attest  that  they  all  came 
from  the  same  region,  in  Mongolia,  Thibet,  and  the  lakes  of 
Central  Asia.  Being  coerced  by  the  pressure  of  the  beardless 
stock  behind,  they  forced  a  passage  towards  Europe  through 
innumerable  fields  of  slaughter,  and  swarmed  during  a  period 
commencing  probably  twelve  centuries  B.  C,  perhaps  when  the 
great  inland  sea  was  already  much  contracted,  and  the  rivers 
in  their  way  were  not  yet  so  greatly  absorbed  in  sand  as  they 
are  now. 

We  observe,  in  fact,  that  already  at  the  time  of  the  first 
Celtic  expansion  in  Gaul,  when  tribes  of  that  race  recrossed  the 

*In  Asia  Minor  they  appear  to  have  constituted  the  Lydian,  Pelasgian, 
and  Carian  nations  ;  and  Tyrhenian  orTorubian,  and  Phoenician,  further 
on,  were  probably  more  Finnic,  but  all  allied,  as  is  shown  by  Hesiod  and 
Herodotus,  in  Lydian  records  ;  and  Ovid,  quoting  a  Naxian  legend,  where 
tribes  are  personified,  the  Tyrhenian  theft  of  the  god  Bacchus,  indicates 
that  these  pirate  rovers  carried  the  vine  to  Italy. 


412  NATURAL   HISTORY    01 

Rhine,  600  years  B.  C,  that  Semi-Teutones  or  Getic  tribes, 
such  as  the  Boii,  were  among  them,  and  that  the  moveon-nt 
was  occasioned  by  fresh  pressure  of  similar  tr.'bes  coming 
down  the  north-west  coast  of  Germany  —  tribes  that  could  not 
be  expatriated  by  any  other  than  enemies  of  purer  Getic  race, 
who  were  themselves  pressed  by  more  of  the  same",  further  in 
the  north-east.  We  have  prominent,  on  the  scene  of  action, 
the  same  names  of  nations,  from  the  high  lands  of  Mongolia  to 
the  German  Ocean.  They  continue  to  roll  onwards  in  waves, 
retaining  their  first  appellations,  till  four  centuries  A.  C.  In 
Tahtar,  and  Chinese  and  European  Chinese  annals,  they  are 
distinguished  by  the  names  of  Kioto  Moey,  Yuchi,  and  Yetx-, 
Getae,  Scythae,  Guti,  Guttones,  Jotun,  Goths,  Massagets,  etc., 
until  they  become  known  by  more  tribal  denominations,  such 
as  Gothi,  Germani,  Teutones,  Xacas,  Sacas,  Sakya,  Sacse : 
at  later  periods  we  find  Sueiones,  Suevi,  Burgundi;  and  at 
length  they  are  followed  by  Sclavonic  tribes,  which  always 
bear  some  impression  of  Ural  Altaic  consanguinity,  notwith- 
standing that  in  part  they  are  descended  from  Sacas,  who, 
repulsed  by  Indian  forces,  fell  back  upon  Persia,  and  brought 
with  them  Hindoo  mythological  notions,  that  extended  among 
kindred  nations,  and  reached  Scandinavia. 

According  to  Chinese  annalists,  when  Foh  appeared,  B.  C. 
1027,  Yuchi  were  already  established  in  Bactria,  along  the 
Sihoon  or  Jaxartes  river,  and  they  had  possessed,  or  still  were 
masters  of,  the  great  basin  around  Lake  Balkach ;  the  first  station 
west  of  the  central  mountain  chain,  provided  that  the  Siberian 
region,  in  remote  times  called  Geta  or  Yeta,  be  not  still  more 
ancient,  and  reveal  the  original  meaning  of  Get,  bright,  corrus- 
cating,  the  same  as  Sibir,  and  our  silver,  which  seems  to  be  the 
Russian  or  Sclavonic  translation  of  Yet. 

The  Chinese  Yuchi,  and  more  proper  names  of  Yeta  and 
Gette,  collectively  taken,  denoted  the  whole  family  of  fair- 
haired  tribes,  including  those  which  were  foremost  in  the 
movement  towards  the  west,  and  were  partially  intermixed 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.     .  413 

with  the  Celtic  tribes  of  the  north,  forming  the  Cymber  or 
Cimmerian  people  before  mentioned.  Similar  interunions 
affected  the  Gallic  or  fair-haired  Gaul  tribes;  the  Boii,  the 
Volsci,  the  Britons  of  the  east  coast,  the  Yuinidi;  the  Wilci, 
northern  or  second  Belgas*  &c. ;  but  it  may  be  doubted 
whether  the  Allemanni,  Allobrogi,  Centomanni,  Geremanni. 
Teutones,  and  Frisones,  were  of  the  same  races,  pure  Getae,  or 
with  perhaps  some  Finnic  intermixture.  That  they  were 
nearly  allied,  is  evident  from  their  tribal  names,  notwithstand- 
ing that  the  Romans  confounded  them  with  the  Gauls, 
because,  in  the  time  of  Marius,  it  was  thought  to  be  the 
greater  honor  to  vanquish  them,  and  they  were  encountered 
)n  the  west  side  of  the  Rhine.  In  Britain,  the  former  were 
the  Gwyddel  Coch,  or  Ywerdon,  the  red  Gael  of  Ireland, 
probably  the  Dalriads  noticed  in  the  third  century  again,  of  the 
same  nation  as  the  yellow-haired  Britons,  taller  than  the 
Italian  race,  seen  at  Rome  by  Strabo,  and  still  distinguished 
by  the  bard  of  Malcolm  III.,  in  1057.  These  no  doubt  were 
the  Celto  Scythas  of  earlier  antiquity,  little  if  at  all  to  be 
divided  from  the  Finnic  Celts,  but  more  distinct  from  the 
Getic  tribes,  who  are  often  noticed  in  antiquity,  as  milk-eating 
and  western  Scythoe,  residing  between  the  Danube  and  the 
Tanais  or  Don,  at  the  time  the  eastern  Getae,  or  Massagetse, 
the  Sakas  and  Sarmata;,  were  on  the  plains  northward  of  the 
Caspian,  and  along  the  Oxus  and  Jaxartes,  up  to  High  Asia, 
and  the  Yuchi  (Yueichi)  were  still  in  the  present  Mongolia. 
This  appears  to  have  been  that  period  when  the  great  conflict 
of  the  typical  races  was  at  its  height,  in  Northern  Central 
Asia;  for  the  Chinese  were  then  building  the  Great  Wall 
(B.  C.  223)  to  exclude  these  valiant  tribes  from  their  southern 
states,  and  the  Persian  monarchs  were  equally  anxious  to  pre- 
vent them  penetrating  to  the  south,  since  they  also  had  raised 

*  The  Esauites,  or  Italian  Edomites  of  Gorio,  who  built  Norba,  Alba, 
and  other  Cyclopean  cities  in  Lower  Etruria  and  Latium,  were  a  fair- 
haired  race,  most  likely  Etruscans,  speaking  an  Oscan  dialect. 

35* 


414  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

a  great  wall,  or  continuous  lines  of  defence,  from  Bactria  to 
the  Caspian,  a  rampart  like  the  Kizil  Alan,  most  likely  older 
than  the  accession  of  the  Sassanian  dynasty  ;  since  further 
west,  the  wall  between  the  two  seas,  passing  from  Derbend 
(Porta  portarum,  Portue  Caspiae)  to  the  Euxine,  appears  also  to 
be  more  ancient  than  historical  record. 

The  Yuei-chi,  the  last  Caucasian  race  that  left  the  north 
central  high  land  of  Asia,  being  pressed  by  the  Mongolians,  or 
by  Huns  from  the  north-east  (about  200  B.  C),  were  compelled 
to  quit  Chensi,  and  fell  upon  the  Sai,  or  Sakas,  who,  retreat- 
ing, divided  into  two  great  masses,  whereof  the  first  directed 
its  course  towards  the  west,  and  the  other,  not  quite  so  numer- 
ous, fell  back  upon  Southern  Thibet,  and  thence  came  down 
upon  the  Greek  Bactrian  state  (B.  C.  90),  then  ruled  by  Mith- 
ridates.  They  had,  at  the  same  time,  similar  conflicts  with 
the  Parthians,  whose  king,  Artaban,  they  slew.  They  gave 
an  asylum  to  Sanotrokes,  and  restored  him  to  power  (B.  C. 
76).  From  Bactria  they  crossed  the  Paropamisus,  and  sub- 
dued another  Greek  sovereignty  in  Afghanistan,  on  the  south 
side  of  the  chain.  Passing  onwards,  they  formed  a  province 
of  Scinde ;  but,  in  an  attempt  to  penetrate  further  eastward, 
they  were  routed  by  Vikra-maditya,  king  of  Avanti  (B.  C. 
56).  If  not  from  an  earlier  invasion,  it  was,  at  the  latest,  in 
consequence  of  this  defeat,  that  the  recoiling  Scythae  were 
supplied  with  the  Hindoo  religious  elements,  which  some  of 
the  tribes,  migrating  westward,  have  evidently  mixed  up  with 
Celtic  and  Finnic  legends  in  the  north  of  Europe.  We  do 
not,  for  example,  find  the  Asii,  here  called  Lazi,  to  have  pos- 
sessed the  doctrines  recorded  in  the  Edda.  When,  according 
to  the  Chinese  annals,  they  were  opposing  the  Tatzin  or  the 
Romans,  in  their  endeavors  to  open  a  trade  with  China,  for 
which  purpose,  being  hindered  on  land,  they  sent  an  ambassa- 
dor by  sea  to  the  Celestial  Empire,  in  the  reign  of  a  sovereign 
denominated  "  Anton,"  i.  c,  Marcus  Aurelius  Antoninus. 
While  they  were  still  residing  on  the  Caspian,  and  when  the" 


THE    R7MAN   SPECIES.  415 

began  to  form  a  strong  community  on  the  banks  of  the  Borys- 
thenes,  Thorgitaus,  their  chief  divinity,  is  not  represented  with 
characters  suited  to  the  high  northern  latitude,  where  Thor  and 
Woden  are  afterwards  made  to  operate  in  a  manner  congenial 
with  the  climate.  If  the  city  Asgard,  once  existing  near  Azof, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Don,  was  the  representative  of  the  first 
abode  commemorated  in  the  north,  then  the  Asii  possessed  at 
that  point  an  intermediate  resting-place,  so  that  from  their  first 
known  station  within  the  high  table  land  of  Asia,  above  the 
southern  sources  of  the  Jaxartes,  they  moved  gradually  to  the 
south  through  Sogdiana,  across  the  Paropamisus,  and  then 
westward,  to  the  three  stations  already  indicated,  before  they 
or  a  clan  of  this  people  again  returned  to  the  north,  probably 
by  ascending  the  Borysthenes,  and  halting  some  time  about  the 
lake  of  Ladoga,  made  that  water  a  sacred  centre,  until  they 
migrated  to  Scandinavia. 

The  Getse,  found  by  Ovid  occupying  the  west  coast  of  the 
Euxine,  were  then  already  a  century  in  moving  onwards 
towards  the  north-west  of  Europe,  taking  again  the  great 
rivers  of  the  present  Poland  to  reach  the  Baltic.  With  the 
Thuringians  and  Saxons,  or  Sacasunen,  among  them,  they 
forced  their  way  to  the  German  Ocean,  dislodging  the  Cym- 
bers,  excepting  remnants  that  clung  to  the  swamps,  and  the 
then  submerging  islands  of  the  deltas  formed  by  the  great 
rivers  which  discharge  their  waters  into  the  German  Ocean. 
They  were  most  likely  the  subsequent  Friesen  and  Sicambers, 
or  Water  Cymbers,  who,  with  other  tribes  of  so-called  Ger- 
mani,  formed  the  posterior  offensive  confederacy  of  the  Franks 
(Freye-Anke) ;  among  these  the  clan  of  Merovingians  (Meer- 
vingen),  notwithstanding  that  the  site  they  inhabited  is 
pointed  out  to  have  been  :n  the  Merwe  in  Holland,  seems 
nevertheless  to  indicate  a  clan  of  sea-rovers,  whose  first  intel- 
ligible historical  chief,  Pharamund  (Vaaremund),  or  com- 
mander of  the  navigation,  had  performed  some  great  exploit  in 
the  then  fresh  career  of  distant  marine  expeditions,  such  as 


416  NATURAL   HISTORY    OF 

that  of  plundering  and  ravaging-  the  coasts  of  Africa  and 
Spain.  They  and  their  chief  may  perhaps  refer  to  the  remark- 
able escape  of  the  Frankish  exiled  prisoners,  who,  in  A.  D. 
280,  seized  upon  shipping  on  the  coasts  of  the  Euxine,  and 
forced  their  way  homeward,  plundering  Syracuse  and  the 
coasts  of  Gaul  and  Spain,  until  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the 
Rhine  in  safety,  and  loaded  with  booty.  This  event  may  be 
the  basis  of  the  mystical  legend  of  the  Bristly  Bull  monster, 
which  rose  out  of  the  sea,  and  became  the  parent  of  the  Bor- 
stigen,  Meringauen,  or  Meeringen;  for  it  explains  how  a 
daring,  rich,  and  victorious  body  of  Celto  Scythae  and  Finni 
of  the  west,  being  moulded  into  one  united  companionship  by 
misfortune  and  by  success,  replete  with  the  experience  of  their 
adventurous  achievement,  and  possessed  of  captive  wives  and 
slaves  from  highly  civilized  nations,  should  have  grasped  power 
at  home,  and  given  that  settled  purpose  of  conquest  to  these 
restless  tribes,  which,  until  then,  had  been  only  known  as  the 
mere  maraudings  of  pirates. 

By  the  departure  of  the  Franks  eastward  and  across  the 
Rhine,  and  of  the  Saxons  and  Angles  to  Britain,  room  was 
made  for  other  tribes,  who  either  wanted  space  on  the  spot,  or 
were  daily  pressing  onwards  through  the  swamps  and  for.ests 
of  Poland  and  Russia.  We  shall  not  relate  the  great  influx 
of  them  before  and  with  the  Huns,  and  of  numerous  Finnic 
and  Getic  nations  from  the  east,  among  which  the  eastern  and 
western  Goths  were  the  most  conspicuous.  Like  several 
others,  they  had  struck  upon  the  shores  of  the  southern  Baltic, 
and  then  found  they  must  turn  to  the  south.  They  or  similar 
migratory  bands  compelled  Alans,  Vandals,  Burgundians,  &c, 
to  precede  or  to  follow  them,  and  to  produce  that  remarkable 
cross  migration  from  north  to  south,  which  caused  the  intimate 
mixture  of  the  fair  and  dark-haired  races  in  middle  and  south- 
ern Europe,  and  in  the  end  effected  that  thorough  civilization 
of    the   whole,   on   principles   of    progression,   continuing   to 


THE    HUMAN    SPECIES.  417 

develop    3cience  with  daily  increasing  rapidity,  and  tending 
shortly  to  embrace  the  whole  earth. 

Though  many  of  the  parent  races  of  nations  now  remaining 
were  without  letters,  or  were  possessed  of  valuable  elements 
of  knowledge  in  a  very  circumscribed  degree,  there  existed 
among  them  all,  at  a  period  much  earlier  than  is  often  allowed, 
a  method  of  embodying  (it  is  true,  commonly  under  symbolical 
expressions)  records  of  national  belief,  manners,  and  events, 
which  give  occasional  light,  sufficient  to  rectify  the  scanty 
data  of  the  later  classical  writers,  and  the  documents  contained 
in  the  acts  of  the  earlier  ages  of  Christianity.  These  most 
ancient  national  legends  are  poems,  in  various  forms,  and 
often  in  some  part  religious.  They  are  reports,  such  as  Virgil 
knew,  and  interwove  in  his  iEneid,  concerning  the  tribes  of 
Latium,  and  Strabo  asserts  were  possessed  by  the  Iberians. 
They  were  recitals  committed  to  memory,  like  the  Homeric 
poems,  preserved  from  one  generation  to  another  by  repetition, 
with  an  exactness,  all  things  considered,  wonderfully  perma- 
nent. Thus  the  Gael  of  the  Scottish  Highlands,  and  northern 
Irish,  have  recorded  the  poems  of  Ossian,  now  thoroughly 
proved  to  be  genuine.  Such  are  the  thirty  cantos  of  the 
Finnic  Kalewalla,  lately  brought  to  light,  the  numerous  Scan- 
dinavian Sagas,  and  the  two  Eddas.  Even  the  British  Celtic 
legends  of  Arthur,  the  Mabinogion,  and  the  poems  of  Taliesin 
and  Aneurim,  have  now  likewise  established  their  degree  of 
authenticity,  as  well  as  the  first  part  of  the  Arabic  Antar. 
Among  the  Teutonic  tribes,  the  staves  of  the  Gehugende, 
according  to  Jahn,  marked  on  wood,  in  Runic  letters,  con- 
tained the  tribal  reminiscences,  whence  the  earliest  monkish 
annalirts  have  drawn  a  great  part  of  their  first  historical  mate- 
rials. The  Heldenbuch,  and  Niebelungen-noth,  were  most 
likely  p  eserved  by  their  help.  The  last  mentioned  may, 
however  be  of  Franco-Theotisk  origin,  since  four  or  six  pages, 
in  the  Flemish  language,  of  the  twelfth  century,  have  been 
lately  discovered  at  Ghent. 


418  NATURAL    HISTORY    OF 

It  is  to  be  regretted  that  many  stores  of  early  information 
have  been  neglected.  The  list  of  classical  (Greek  and  Latin, 
writers  which  have  perished  since  the  thirteenth  century  is 
sufficiently  extensive.  That  of  indigenous  chronicles,  annals, 
and  legends,  especially  in  the  north  of  Europe,  since  the  same 
period,  is  even  more  considerable.  Some  few  may  yet  remain 
jnknown  ;  and  though  the  general  history  of  events  may  not 
be  greatly  impaired,  we  still  have  to  deplore  the  loss  of  much 
that  concerns  the  nationality,  the  manners,  opinions,  and  tra- 
ditions of  our  remoter  ancestors,  which,  after  all,  are  quite  as 
valuable,  nay,  even  more  so,  than  the  commemoration  of  crime 
and  barbarity  which  has  been  preserved.  Of  the  class  we 
mean,  there  are  still  a  few  remaining,  which,  although  they  be 
distorted  by  ill-directed  zeal,  by  imposture,  and  by  ignorance, 
furnish  curious  hints  in  their  way.  Such,  for  example,  is  the 
song  of  the  Lombards,  also  known  as  that  of  the  Ost  and 
West  Friesen  or  Frisons,  found  by  Mr.  Bonstetten,  at  Copen- 
hagen. In  the  Land-urbar,  or  Costumier  of  the  Bernese 
Swiss,  there  is  likewise  a  legendary  record  of  the  fair-haired 
tribes  of  Ober-Hasli,  Schwytz,  Gessenay,  and  Bellegarde, 
printed  as  early  as  1507,  by  Etterlin,  in  the  chronicles  of 
Lucerne.  The  Song  of  Hasli,  of  about  one  hundred  and 
eighty  stanzas,  relates  the  migration  of  these  clans,  their 
battles,  and  their  arrival  near  the  Brochenberg,  where  they 
built  Schwytz ;  and,  it  appears,  they  fought  in  the  cause  of 
Arcadius  and  Honorius,  about  the  year  387. 


Here  we  terminate  this  inquiry  into  the  origin  and  filiation 
of  the  races  of  Man,  —  a  subject,  zoologically  viewed,  we 
thought  more  novel,  than  to  repeat  what  has  already  been  said 
by  other  writers,  and  especially  by  Dr.  Prichard,  with  his 
accustomed  industry  and  learning. 

As  for  us,  we  are  compelled,  for  want  of  space,  to  abstain 
from  entering  into  many  important  particulars,  which  would  be 


THE   HUMAN    SPECIES.  419 

more  necessary  for  the  elucidation  of  the  general  theory  now 
advanced,  if  readers  were  not  now  very  commonly  well 
informed  on  most  of  the  points  brought  here  under  considera- 
tion. Want  of  space  compelled  us,  from  the  beginning,  to 
mass  our  superabundant  materials  into  groups,  which  on 
many  occasions  may  appear  too  much  generalized,  and  on 
others  marked  with  repetitions,  which  sometimes  we  thought 
requisite  to  refresh  the  memory  of  the  reader.  The  basis  of 
the  questions  chiefly  investigated  was  laid  in  a  series  of  lec- 
tures on  the  same  subject,  read  to  the  Plymouth  Institution, 
between  the  years  1832  and  1S37.  The  materials  were  exclu- 
sively sought  for  in  scientific  researches  and  profane  history  ; 
and  the  successive  discoveries  and  conclusions  of  other  writers 
since  that  period,  have,  in  general,  strongly  supported  the 
main  points  of  our  own  convictions,  to  which  we  attach  no 
further  personal  importance  than  what  continued  research 
will  disprove,  or  in  due  time  assent  to,  when  the  basis  of  sev- 
eral conclusions  offered  in  these  pages  will  have  acquired  more 
ample  notoriety  and  consequent  solidity. 


AMER'C'A     T>^E 


Trent  view  .  Unrrmi  /Jo-  Jtlatuticit.  of  the  ShiU 


/r     'capital  I've*  mth  the  0,     ■  ■    r 


WOOLLY-HAIRED  TYPE 


GOLD  COA.ST 


AkA>'OUR(JS 


BEARDLESS  TYPE 


MONGOU 
V&ITJ^AL  ASPECT 


BEARDED  or   CAUCASIAN  TYPE 


Q  I* 

UJ  LU 

a  o 

—  x. 

<  a 


.<--*£*.     1    1     # 

A        j&    j 


g;»w,? 


INDO_CHINA-MAlAY    RACES. 


COCHIN    CHINA 


. 


U.   SI     OP    lil'.A/II-      H.\:.r        \>T   XEl.Ku    AN'D    '.AYAPO    END1AX 


NEW   ZEALAND 


}  if 


TE   KEWITI,    SON    01     TF     h  .  \  i   WAIS 


0T0    INDIA'S 


CLTXHE    K.OCIC*    MOCK  TATN    OJDIAN 

1 


yOJAl    7.1HTAE 


10. 


El  ELTH 


V 


2k 


1?; 


JAPANESE     PRIZE    TIGHTER 


CAUCASIAN     TAHTARS 


CAUCASIAN    RACE 


GREATEST    DEVBLOPEMINT    .  SI.AWS1C    .VOBLE. 


APPENDIX. 


It  was  intended,  when  the  foregoing  work  was  first  in  progress,  to 
have  thrown  into  an  Appendix  such  additional  observations  as  might  be 
thought  important,  or  that  had  escaped  notice  in  their  proper  places,  and 
to  add  to  them  the  discoveries  which  might  have  become  known  during 
the  progress  of  publication ;  but  finding  the  text  already  greatly  to  exceed 
the  usual  limits  of  the  single  volume  allowed  for  the  discussion  of  the 
questions  we  have  had  to  consider,  the  objects  to  have  come  under  notice 
were  reluctantly  abandoned,  or  confined  to  the  smallest  space. 

Thus,  on  the  article  Indus,  pp.  107 — 111,  recent  discoveries  of  more  than 
one  ancient  bed  of  the  river  have  been  made  considerably  further  to  the 
eastward  than  what  were  known,  and  the  conjectures  respecting  the  origi- 
nal course  of  the  river  to  the  sea,  in  the  Gulf  of  Cutch,  are  strengthened. 

Respecting  the  abrasion  of  the  west  coast  of  India,  pp.  109,  110,  might 
be  mentioned  Calicut,  the  capital  city  at  the  time  of  the  Portuguese  con- 
quest, but  now  sunk  beneath  the  sea. 

With  regard  to  the  various  levels  between  the  Caspian  Sea,  the  uplands 
of  Russia,  and  Poland,  pp.  120 — 124,  we  may  remark,  that  the  fall  of  the 
rivers  opening  in  the  Volga  is  110  feet,  those  that  are  affluents  to  the  Neva 
fall  445  feet,  making  a  total  of  555  ;  now,  adding  this  total  to  the  surface 
of  the  Caspian,  there  appears  to  be  only  200  feet  remaining  for  the  culmi- 
nating ground  at  the  sources  of  the  Volga  ;  but  if  these  are  estimated  on 

36 


422  APPENDIX. 

measurement  based  in  error,  and  we  make  the  elevation  to  Vie  about  700 
feet  at  the  highlands  of  Vologda,  still  taking  the  lowest  level  between  the 
Euxine  and  the  Baltic  to  be  in  a  line  of  latitude  58,  the  waters  of  the  two 
were  of  no  dissimilar  height,  while  the  Gulf  of  Bothnia  was  still  an  open 
strait,  and  the  northern  portion  of  the  Old  Continent  had  not  as  yet  com- 
menced rising.  It  appears  that  Norwegian  Lapland  has  risen  1800  feet 
in  the  last  1200  years. 

At  page  129,  note,  we  should  have  added  that  even  the  byssus  of  the 
pinna  was  not  destroyed. 

Pages  142-3.  The  volcanic  disturbances  of  the  Red  Sea  were  again  in 
operation  in  the  last  or  in  the  present  year  (1847),  when  a  new  island  rose 
above  the  surface  in  the  southern  portion.  The  French  survey,  for  a 
canal  between  Suez  and  Lake  Mensaleh,  recently  published,  likewise 
countenances  the  opinion  that  the  Isthmus  was  originally  open. 

Page  151.  Among  others,  is  the  tale  of  Moshup,  the  giant  spirit,  who 
resided  at  Nop,  now  Martha's  Vineyard,  at  a  time  when  the  currents  ran 
differently,  and  ice  used  to  pack  about  Nantucket  shoals.  But  better 
evidence  is  found  in  the  researches  of  Mr.  Lyell,  who  considers  the  south- 
eastern portion  of  the  United  States,  about  Savannah,  to  be  subsiding, 
while  Canada,  and  latterly  Nova  Scotia,  are  shown  to  be  rising,  probably 
in  the  same  ratio  as  the  Arctic  regions  on  the  Old  Continent. 

Page  155.  The  human  bones  first  discovered  in  England  were  in  fissures 
of  lime  rock  :  they  went  to  mend  the  highway,  and  no  investigation  by 
competent  pei'sons  took  place  until  long  after.  A  similar  fate  attended 
the  discovery  of  a  completely  fossilized  human  body  at  Gibraltar,  in  1748. 
The  fact  is  related  in  a  manuscript  note,  inserted  in  a  copy  of  the  disser- 
tation on  the  antiquity  of  the  earth,  by  the  Rev.  James  Douglass,  read  at 
the  Royal  Society,  May  12,  1785.  The  volume  belonged  to  the  late  Rev. 
Vyvyan  Arundel,  while  he  was  still  at  Exeter  College,  Oxford,  and  the 
note,  signed  J.  W.,  is  written  on  paper,  by  the  water-mark  indicating 
about  the  year  1 790.  In  substance  it  relates  that  while  the  writer  was 
himself  at  Gibraltar,  some  miners  employed  to  blow  up  rocks,  for  the 
purpose  of  raising  batteries,  ibout  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  on 


APPENDIX.  423 

the  higher  ground,  near  the  Old  Mole,  discovered  an  appearance  of  a 
human  body,  which — impatient  because  the  officer  to  whom  notice  was 
sent  of  the  object  did  not  come  to  witness  it  —  they  blew  up.  It  was 
reported  to  have  been  eight  feet  and  a  half  long.  Several  of  the  pieces 
were  taken  up,  and  among  them  part  of  a  thigh  bone,  "  with  flesh,  and 
I  thought  an  appearance  of  veins,  all  in  a  state  of  perfect  petrifaction,  as 
hard  as  marble  itself  ;  and  in  the  solid  part  of  the  same  stone  a  sea  shell." 
It  is  evident,  that  if  this  body  was  fossilized  by  the  infusion  of  stalactite 
matter,  it  must  still  have  been  of  most  remote  antiquity. 

Pages  15G — 161.  We  refer  to  Mr.  Lyell's  account  of  the  human  remains 
brought  from  South  America,  where,  among  others,  he  notices  a  skull, 
taken  from  among  a  great  number  of  other  remains,  out  of  a  sandstone 
rock,  now  overgrown  with  very  large  trees,  in  the  vicinity  of  Santas,  in 
Brazil.  He  avows  an  opinion  that  the  locality  may  have  been  an  Indian 
burying-ground,  which  subsequently  sank  beneath  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  then  was  hove  up  again.  Now,  if  this  theory  be  admitted,  and  it  is 
coupled  with  the  growth  of  large  trees  above  the  deposit,  to  what  period 
can  it  be  assigned,  when  we  reflect,  that  the  bones  of  pachyderms,  and  of 
a  species  of  extinct  horse,  both  confessedly  found  in  alluvial,  must  be  of 
a  more  recent  period  ? 

Page  419.  With  regard  to  the  Slavi,  which  might  have  been  noticed  as 
the  last  migrating  nation  that  came  from  the  East  to  Europe,  they  were 
omitted,  because  no  detail  could  be  given  even  of  the  little  that  is  known 
of  them.  In  structure  and  intellectual  capacity  they  are  so  like  their 
immediate  predecessors,  the  Goths,  that  no  other  sensible  difference  is 
observable  between  them,  than  that  they  have  even  a  still  greater  pre- 
dominance of  Sanscrit  roots  in  their  language,  and  that  there  are  other 
evidences  which  lead  to  a  presumption  of  their  route  westward  having 
been  in  part  to  the  south  of  the  Caspian.  An  instance  of  the  highest 
intellectual  development,  in  the  frontal  form  of  the  head,  is  given  in  the 
Plates. 


GOULD   &   LINCOLN, 

PUBLISHERS    AND    BOOKSELLEKS, 

59  WASHINGTON   STREET,  BOSTON. 


CUAllLES    D.    COl'LD. 


JOSIIVA    I.IXCOLX. 


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works  111    XllEOLOOY,  Sell   SI   I  .  1-1  I  I  KATI   l.l.   USD  ART,  Tl..\  r    BOOKS    FOB    BC >LS    '  V  "i 

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writers,  and  most  scientific  men  ol  the  age,  among  which  will  be  found  those  of  Chambers, 

Hindi  Miller,  .  Guvot.  Ma i,  Baync,  Hi  ?ers.  Dr.  Uarris,  Dr.  Wayland,  Dr. 

Williams,  Dr.  Ripley,  Dr.  Kitto,  Dr.  Knimniacher,  Dr.  Tweedic,  Dr.  Choules,  Dr.  Spraguc, 
,\".  wcomti,  1  :.i i<  \  ird,  "  Walter  Aimwcll,"  Bungcner,  Miall,  Archdeacon  Uare,  and  others  i  t 

nding  and  popularity  ;  and  to  this  list  they  are  constantly  adding.  Among  their  hue 
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rvnowledtro  is  Pouer.   The  Productive 

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Illustrated.    Am.  IMi.     Revised",  with  addi- 
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lias. 


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A.M. 

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*  l.jj  per  volume. 

Chambers'  Cyclopaedia 

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300  elegant  Illustrations.    CI 

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Works  by  IIhtIi  Miller: 

j  of  the  K.--clts. 
Footpi-irjtsi  of  the  Creator. 
Old  lied  Sand  tone. 
My   First    Impressions    of  England 

and  its  People. 
My  Schools  and  Schoolmates. 


Life  of  James  Montgomery.   Abridged 

■   i    ad  ii  seven  vol.  cd.    By 
M    .  II.  C.  Khioiit,  author  of"  Lady  Uun- 

i  and  her  1  liciids."  Illustrated     l.inu. 

EjSSayS;  in  Biography  and  Criticism.  By 
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I'M  I    1 

Ao.vssiz  and  Gould's  Zoology. 
Doom  is'  C 

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with  a  List  ol  i 

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The  Natural  History  op  toe  id  man 

Species  :    Its  Tj  pical  Forms  and  Primeval 
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Diary  and    Correspondence  of  the 

LATE     AM"S     LAWBHBCB.       Llitrd    liy    his 

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Kltto's  Popular  Cyclopaedia  of  bib- 
lical Literature.  500  illustrations.  One 
vol.,  Detavo.  bl'J  pages.     Cloth,  ♦■!. 

Intended  for  minister*,  theological  students, 
parents,  Babbath-achool  teachers, and  thegrcut 
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Analytical  Concordance  of  the  Holy 

BCBIPTURES  1    or.    The     Bible    D 

under  Classified  Heads  or  Topics,   liy  John 

EadIE,  D.  1>.     Octavo,  6J0  Dp.  |& 

Dr.  Williams'  Works. 

Lectures  on  tho  Lord's  Prayer  — Re- 
ligious Progress  —  Miscellanies. 
I  -.  Williams  li  a  profoui 
a  brilliant  writer. —  Ac"'  Yui  k  l.ru,. 

Modem  AtllClsni.  Considered  under  its 
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James  Buchanan,  1).  D.,  IX.  L.  12mo. 
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Mrs.  Ubobok  P.  Marsh.   L'mo.    CI.,  (L 

The  Sn!Tering  Savionr.   By  Dr.  Kbusi- 

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Heaven.    By  James  Wm.  Kimball.  l2mo. 

Christian's  Daily  Treasury,  Religious 

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Wavland's  Sermons.    Delivered  in  the 

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for  the  Youxo.  Elegantly  illustrated, 
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The  American  Statesman.  Life  and  Char- 
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Abroad;  or  Vacation  in  Europe. —  The 
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Pleasant  J'ages  for  Young  People.  —  The 
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The  Aimwell  Stories.  Resembling 
and  quite  equal  to  the  "  ltollo  Stories."  — 
Christian  Register.  By  Walter  Aimwell. 
Oscar;  or  the  Boy  who  had  his  own  way.  — 
Clinton  ;  or  Boy-Life  in  the  Countrv. — Ella  ; 
or  Turning  over  a  New  Leaf. —  Whistler; 
<-r  The  Manly  Boy. —  Marcus;  or  the  Boy 
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Works  bt  Rev.  Harvey  Newcomr. 
Jfoic  to  be  a  Lady.  —  llmo  to  fce  a  Man.  — 
Anecdotes  for  Hoys.  —  Anecdotes  for  Girls. 

Baxvard's  Series  of  Americas  His- 
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ductlon,  by  Rev.  W.  B.  Si-ragce,  D.  1). 
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The  Progress  of  Baptist  Principles 

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<  urtis,  Prof,  ot  Theology  in  the  Lewlsburg 
I  Diversity.    Lmo.    Cloth,  91*25. 

Dr.  Harris'  Works. 

The  Great  Teacher.  —  The  Greet 
Comrais^ion.  —  The  Prc-Adamite 
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The  Rctter  Land :  on  tm  believer's 

Journey  axd  Fcti  be  Home.  By  Rev.  A. 
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Kitto's  History  of  Palestine,  from  the 

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of  Hymns  in  the  Lnglish'  language. 


CS~  In  addition  to  works  published  by  themselves,  they  keep  an  extensive  assortment  of 
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GUYOT'S  AVORKS.    VALUABLE  MAPS. 

THE  EARTH  AND  MAN" ;  Lectures  on  Comparative  Physical  Geography, 
in  its  relation  to  the  History  of  Mankind.  By  ARNOLD  Gutot.  With  Illustrations. 
12:no,  cloth,  SI. 25. 

Prof.  Locis  Agassiz,  of  Harvard  University,  says  :  "It  will  not  only  render  the  study  of 
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rand  idea  of  the  work  is  happily  expressed  by  the  author,  where  he  calls  it  the  gcograjihi- 
cal  march  of  history.  ■■■  e  feel  as  if  we  were  studying  a  treatise  on  the  exact  sciences  ;  at 

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COMPARATIVE  PHYSICAL  AND  HISTORICAL  GEOGRA- 
PHY ;  or,  the  Study  of  the  Earth  and  Inhabitants.  A  Series  of  Graduated  Courses, 
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GUYOT'S  MURAL  MAPS.  A  series  of  elegant  Colored  Maps,  projected  on  a 
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Map  ok  the  World,  mounted,  $10.00. 

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Text,  Geological  Sections,  and  Plates  of  the  Fossils  which  characterize  the  Formations. 
By  Jcles  Marcoc.     Two  volumes.     Octavo,  cloth,  $3.00. 

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Mining  Magazine,  X  T. 

HALL'S  GEOLOGICAL  CHART  ;  Giving  an  Ideal  Section  of  the  Successive 
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By  Prof.  James  Hall,  of  Albany.    Mounted,  $9.00. 

A  KEY  TO  GEOLOGICAL  CHART.    By  Prof.  James  Hall.    18mo,25cts. 

(31) 


VALUABLE  TEXT-BOOKS. 

THE  LECTURES  OF  SIR  WILLIAM  HAMILTON,  BART.,  late 
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taining the  Author's  Latest  Development  ol  i  iy.  Edited  by  Her. 
IIi.miv  Lomgobvill]  M  B  D  ol  Moral  and  Metaphysical  Philosophy  in 
Magdalen  College,  Oxford,  and  John  Vkitcb,  M.  A.,  of  E  linburgh.  In  two  royal  octavo 
volumes,  viz., 

I.  Metaphysical  Lbctubis  (now  ready}.    Royal  octavo,  cloth. 

II.    Logical  Leitcres  (in  preparation). 

OS"  G.  Si  L.,  by  n  special  arrangement  with  the  family  of  the  late  Sir  William  Hamilton,  a.-e 
the  Authorized  American  Publishers  of  thii  distinguished  author's  matchlem  Lectubbs  ns  Mbt- 

apstsics  am'  1 ic,  and  thej  an  permitted  to  print  the  same  from  ad vance  sheets  furnished 

them  by  the  English  publishers. 

MENTAL  PHILOSOPHY;  Including  the  Intellect,  the  Sensibilities,  and  the 
Will  By  Joseph  Haven-,  Prof,  of  Intellectual  and  Moral  Philosophy,  Amherst  College. 
Royal  12mo,  cloth,  |1  60. 

It  is  believed  this  work  will  he  found  pre-eminently  distinguished. 

1.  The  Comi'I.ktenkss  with  whieh  it  presents  the  whole  subject.  Text-books  generally  treat 
of  only  one  class  of  faculties  ;  this  work  includes  the  whole,  '-'.  It  is  strictly  and  thoroughly  Sci- 
utxific.  ".  It  presents  a  careful  analysis  of  the  mind,  as  a  whole*  4.  The  history  and  literature 
of  each  topic.  5.  The  latest  results  of  the  science.  0.  The  chaste,  yet  attractive  style.  ".  The 
remarkable  condensation  of  tl 

Prof.  Pauk,  of  Andover,  says  :  "  It  is  DISTIXQCISBBD  for  its  clearness  of  style,  perspicuity  of 
method,  candor  of  s;>irit,  acumen  and  comprehensiveness  of  thought." 

The  work,  though  so  recently  published,  h^s  met  with  most  remarkable  success  ;  having  been 
already  introduced  into  a  large  number  ol  lieges  and  schools  in  various  parts  of  the 

country,  and  bids  fair  to  take  the  place  of  every  other  work  on  the  subject  now  before  the  public. 

THESAURUS  OP  ENGLISH  WORDS  AND  PHRASES,  s.  classi- 
fied and  arranged  as  to  facilitate  tl.  try  composi- 
tion. New  and  Improved  Edition.  By  Peteb  Mask  Jfc  -  cretary  of  the  Royal 
Society.  London,  c;c.  Revised  and  edited,  with  a  List  of  Foreign  Words  defined  in  Eng- 
lish, and  other  additions,  by  Barxas  Sears,  D.  i' .  I  I  versify.  A 
Nbw  Americas  Edition,  with  Additions  and  Improvements.    12rno,  cloth,  $1.50. 

This  edition  is  based  on  the  London  edition,  recently  issued.    The  first  American  Edition  hav- 
ing been  prepared  by  Dr.  J^ears  for  urposes,  those  words  and  phrases  properly 
termed  "  vulgar,"  incorporated  in  the  original  work,  were  emitted.    These  expurgated  portions  hive, 
in  the  present  edition,  been   restored,  but  by  such  an  arrangement  of  the  matter  as  not  to  inter- 
fere with  the  educational  purpos  -  Besides  this,  it  contains  imi 
additions  of  words  and  phrases  not  in  the  English  edition,  making  it  in  all  ret 
perfect  than  the  author's  edition.    The  work  has  already  become  one  of  standard  au< 
in  this  country  and  in  Great  Britain. 

PALEY'S    NATURAL    THEOLOGY.      Illustrated   by  forty   Plates,  with 
Selec        3  ft       the  N  ites  of  Dr.  Paxton,  and   Additional  N  ites,  Original  and  Sel 
with  a  V  <c  tbulary  of  Scientific  Terms.    E  lited  by  Jo  rs  Wars.  M.  D.   Improved  e  I 
with  elegant  newly  engraved  plates.     12mo,  cloth,  embossed,  51.'25. 

This  work  is  very  generally  introduced  into  our  best  Schools  and  Colleges  throughout  the  conn- 
try.  An  entirely  new  and  beautiful  set  of  Illustrations  has  recently  been  procured,  which,  with 
other  improvements,  render  it  the  best  and  most  complete  work  of  the  kind  extant, 

(32) 


WORKS  OF  HUGH  MILLER. 

THE  OLD  EED  SANDSTONE;  or,  New  Walks  in  an  Old  Field.  Illustrated 
with  Plates  and  Geologic  il  Sections.  New  Edition,  Revised  and  much  Enlarged, 
by  th;  addition  of  new  matter  ami  new  Illustrations,  etc.     12mo,  cloth,  $1.25. 

This  edition  contains  over  one  hundred  pages  of  entirely  new  matter,  from  the  pen  of  Hugh 
Miller.  It  contains,  also,  several  additional  new  plates  and  cuts,  the  old  plates  re-engraved  and 
improved,  au  1  an  Appendix  of  new  Notes. 

'•  It  is  withal  one  of  the  most  beautiful  specimens  of  English  composition  to  be  found,  convey- 
in.-  inform  ttion  on  -i  most  difficult  and  profound  science,  in  a  style  at  once  novel,  pleasing,  and 
.."  — Ui:.  Sren-tE  —  Albany  Spectator. 

THE  FOOT-PRINTS  OF  THE  CREATOR;  of,  the  Asterolepis  of  Strom- 
ness,  with  nuiii  tous  Illustrations.  With  a  Memoir  of  the  Author,  by  Louis  Agassiz. 
12  d  >,  cloth,  $1.00. 

Dr.  Bucki.and  laid  he  would  give  his  left  hand  to  possess  such  power  of  description  as  this  man. 

TESTIMONY"  OF  THE  ROCKS;  or,  Geology  in  its  Bearings  on  the  two 
Theologies,  Natural  and  Revealed.  "Thou  shalt  be  in  league  with  the  stones  of  the 
field." — Job.  With  numerous  elegant  Illustrations.  One  volume,  royal  12rao,  cloth, 
$1.25. 

This  is  the  largest  and  most  comprehensive  Geological  Work  that  the  distinguished  author  has 
yet  published.  It  exhibits  the  profoun  1  learning,  the  felicitous  style,  and  the  scientific  perception, 
Which  characterize  his  former  works,  while  it  embraces  the  latest  results  of  geological  discovery. 
But  the  great  charm  of  the  book  lies  in  those  passages  of  glowing  eloquence,  in  which,  having 
spread  out  his  ficts,  the  author  p.o:  led*  to  m  ike  deductions  from  them  of  the  most  striking  nnd 
exciting  character.  The  work  is  profusely  illustrated  by  engravings  executed  at  Taris,  in  the  highest 
style  of  French  art. 

THE  CRUISE  OF  THE  BETSEY;  or,  a  Summer  Ramble  among  the  Fossil- 
iferous  Deposits  of  the  Hebrides.  With  Rambles  of  a  Geologist  ;  or,  Ten  Thousand 
Miles  over  the  Fossiliferoua  Deposits  of  Scotland.    12mo,  cloth,  $1.25. 

Nothing  need  be  said  of  it  save  that  it  possesses  the  same  fascination  for  the  reader  that  charac- 
terizes the  author's  other  works. 

MY  SCHOOLS  AND  SCHOOLMASTERS;  or,  the  Story  of  my  Educa- 
tion. An  Autobiography.  With  a  full-length  Portrait  of  the  Author.  12mo,  cloth, 
$1.25. 

This  is  a  personal  narrative,  of  a  deeply  interesting  and  instructive  character,  concerning  one  of 
the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  age. 

MY  FIRST  IMPRESSIONS  OF  ENGLAND  AND  ITS  PEOPLE. 

With  a  fine  Engraving  of  the  author.     12mo,  cloth,  $1.00. 

D3T"  A  very  instructive  book  of  travels,  presenting  the  most  perfectly  life-like  views  of  England 
and  its  people  to  be  found  in  any  language. 

OOf-  The  a'jore  six  volumes  are  furnished  m  sets,  printed  and  bound  in  uniform  style  :  viz  , 

HUGH  MILLER'S  "WORKS,  Six  Volumes.  Elegant  embossed  cloth,  $7.00 ; 
library  sheep,  $S.OO  j  half  calf,  $12.00  ;  antique,  $12.00. 

MACAULAY  ON  SCOTLAND.  A  Critique,  from  the  -Witness."  16mo, 
flexible  cloth,  25  cts.  (2  G) 


IMPORTANT    WORKS. 

A  TREATISE  ON  THE  COMPARATIVE  ANATOMY  OP   THE 
ANIMAL    KINGDOM.      By    Profi.  C.  Tii.  Vost   Sikbold 
Translated  from  the  German,  with  N   I   i,  Vddilions,  &c.     By  Waldo  I    I  M.  D., 

time,  cloth,  | 

I    i  ,   It  believed    hi  .pletcwork  on  Die  euli.i.  it  extant  ; 

■trt  it -i  appeal  n*  of  the  American  Translator, if  army* 

intry. 

UNITED    STATES    EXPLORING   EXPEDITION;   during  the  years 

1833,  1839,  1310,  Ml.  1842,  u:i  ler  Charles  Wilkbs,  U.  8.  N.     V..|.  xit. 
.Mni.i.i  -   laxdS  Bj  \    Q  Mi',  M.  D.    Elegant  quarto  routine,! 

THE  LANDING  AT  CAPE  ANNE  ;  or, Tub  Chabti  r  o»  mt  l 

''.V    n\    Mil.   TERRITORY    OF    nil.    MA38ACHCSETT8    COMPANT.      Ni." 

and  first  published  from  the  original  maxcscriptj  with  an  inquiry  Into  its  authority, 
and  a   Histori  By  J.  Wi.s- 

Thornton.    Svo,  cloth,  §1.50. 

i     *"  A  rare  contribution  to  tin-  ■  of  New  Englai  HsJoiimai. 

LAKE    SUPERIOR;   Its  Physical  Characl  ..  and  Animals.    Bjr  L. 

\    '  i      i  One  taro,  elegantly  Illustrated,  cloth,  $3  60. 

THE  HALLIG;  OR, tub  Shebpfold  in  hi;  '.   Tale  of  Humble  Lire  on 

the  I  ierman  of  Bierxai   ki,  by  Mrs.  Gbobqi  P. 

M  ,i.-;i.    With  a  Biographical  Sketch  of  the  Author.    12mo,  cloth,  $1.00. 

A<  :i  revelation  of  nn  entire  new  i  "v.  tills  work  strongly  remind*  (he  reader 

of  Mis-  Brent  !i*i  tales,    In  originality  and  brilliancy  of  imagination,  it  is  not  inferior  to  those  j  — 
its  aim  is  fur  higher. 

THE  CRUISE  OP  TEE  NORTH  STAR ;  A  Narrative  of  the  Excursion 
made  by  Mr.  Vanderbilt's  Party  in-the  Steam  Yacht,  in  her  Voyage  to  England,  Russia, 
Denmark,  France,  Spain,  Italy,  Malta,  Turkey,  Madeira,  kc  By  Rev.  John  Ovebtoh 
Choulbs,  D.  I>.  With  elegant  illustrations,  Jcc.  12rao,  cloth,  gilt  backs  and  sides.  $1.50 ; 
cloth,  gilt,  $2.00  ;  Turkey,  gilt, 

PILGRIMAGE  TO  EGYPT;  embracing  a  Diary  of  Explorations  on  the  HBe, 

with  Observations  Illustrative  of  the  Mann  nrs,  Customs,  and  Institutions  of  the  People, 
and  of  the  present  condition  of  the  Antiquities  and  Ruins.  By  lion.  J.  V.  C.  Smith,  late 
Mayor  of  the  City  of  Boston.     With  numerous  elegant  Engravings.     12mo,  cloth,  $1.2J. 

IP  O  IE  T  I  C  A.IL    WORKS. 

COMPLETE    POETICAL    "WORKS    OP    "WILLIAM    COWPER; 

v.ith  a  Life  and  Critical  Notices  of  his  Writings.  Elegant  Illustrations.  16mo,  cloth, 
$1.00. 

POETICAL  WORKS  OP  SIR  WALTER  SCOTT.  Life  and  Illustra- 
tions.    16mo,  cloth,  $1.00. 

MILTON'S  POETICAL  WORKS.  With  a  Life  and  elegant  Illustrations. 
16mo,  cloth,  $1.00. 

E3~  The  above  Poetical  Works,  by  standard  authors,  are  all  of  uniform  size  and  style,  printed 
on  fine  paper  from  clear,  distinct  type,  with  new  and  clcjant  illustrations,  richly  bound  in  full  gilt, 
and  plain.  (27) 


IMPORTANT  NEW  WOEKS. 

CYCLOPEDIA  OF  ANECDOTES  OP  LITERATURE  AND 
THE  PINE  ARTS.  Containing  a  copiou9  and  choice  Selection  of  Anecdotes 
of  the  various  forms  of  Literature,  of  the  Arts,  of  Architecture,  Engravings,  Music, 
Poetry,  Painting,  and  Sculpture,  and  of  the  a  ed   Literary  Characters  and 

Artists  of  different  Countries  ana  Ages,  ic.    J'.y   Kazlitt   Arvine,  A.M.,  author  of 
"Cycl  |  Religious   Lnecdotes."    With  numerous  Illustrations.   725  pp. 

octavo.    Cloth,  $:j.uo  ;  Bheep,  $:j.50  ;  cloth,  gilt,  $4.00  ;  half  calf,  $4.00. 

This  is  unquestionably  the  choicest  collection  of  er  published.    It  contains  three 

thtmsa  Inecdotet:  and  such  is  the  wonderful  variety,  that  it  will  he  found  an  almost 

inexhaustible  fund  of  interest  fbr  every  class  of  renders.    The  elaborate  classification  and   Indexes 

ommend  it  especially  to  public  speakers,  to  the  various  classes  of  Nf<  fill/  and  scientific  men, 

its,  mechanics,  ani  others,  m*  Dictionary  for  reference,  in  relation  to  facts  on  thenum- 

suhjects  and  characters  introduced.     There  are  also  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  fine 

THE  LTPE  OP  JOHN  MILTON,  Narrated  m  Connection  with  the  Political, 
Ei'OL&sia  itical, and  Litbrart  History  of  bisTimb,  By  David  Masson,  M.A.,  Prof  Bsor 
of  Knjrli^li  Literature,  University  College,  London.  Vol.  i  ,  embracing  the  period  from 
1608  to  1639.  \\  itli  Portraits,  and  specimens  of  his  handwriting  at  different  periods. 
K  »yal  octavo,  cloth,  $0.00. 

This  Important  work  will  embrace  three  royal  octavo  volumes.    By  special  arrangement  with 

Prof.  Mass the  author,  <;.  .v  L.  are  permitted  to  print  from  advance  sheets  furnished  them,  as 

the  authorized  American  publish'  rsot  this  magnificent  and  eagerly  looked  for  work.  Volumes  two 
and  three  will  follow  in  due  time  ;  but,  as  each  volume  covers  a  definite  period  of  time,  and  also 
embraces  distinct  topics  of  discussion  or  history,  the)  will  !»•  published  and  sold  independent  of 
each  other,  or  furnished  in  sets  when  the  three  volumes  are  completed. 

THE  GREYSON  LETTERS.  Selections  from  the  Correspondence  of  E.  E.  It. 
Qretson,  Esq.  Edited  by  Henry  Rogers,  author  of  "  Eclipse  of  Faith."  12mo,  cloth, 
$1:25. 

"  Mr.  Greyson  nnd  Mr.  Rogers  are  one  and  tho  same  person.  The  whole  work  is  from  his  pen, 
and  every  tetter  is  radiant  a ith  the  genius  of  the  author.  It  discusses  a  wide  range  of  subjects,  in 
the  most  attractive  manner.  It  abounds  in  the  keenest  wit  and  humor,  satire  and  logic,  it  fairly 
entitles  Mr.  Rogers  to  rank  with  Sydney  Smith  ami  Charles  Lamb  aa  a  wit  ami  humorist,  and  with 
Bishop  Butler  as  a  reasoni  r.  Mr.  Rogers'  name  will  share  with  those  of  Butler  and  Pascal,  in  the 
and  veneration  of  posterity  ."  -  Co 

"  A  hook  not  for  one  hour,  but  for  all  hours  ;  not  for  one  mood,  hut  for  every  mood  ;  to  think 
over,  to  dream  over,  to  laugh  over."  —  Boston  Journal 

"The  Letters  are  intellectual  gems,  radiant  with  beauty,  happily  intermingling  the  grave  and 
the  gay.  —  Christian  >  > 

ESSAYS  IN  BIOGRAPHY  AND  CRITICISM.  By  Peteb  Bathe,  M. 
A.,  author  of  "The  Chri  tia  i  Life,  Social  and  Individual."  Arranged  in  two  Series,  or 
Parts.     12mo,  cloth,  each,  $1.25. 

I,i   a     volumes  have  been  prepared  by  the  author  exclusively  for  his  American  publishers,  and 

in  uniform  style.     They  include  nineteen  articles,  viz.  : 
FIRST  SERIES  :  — Thomas  De  Quincy.  —  Tennyson  and  his  Teachers.  —  Mrs.  Barrett  Brown- 
ing.—Recent    Aspects   of   British    Art. —John    Ruskin.  —  Hugh   Miller.  —  The   Modern    Novel; 
Dickens,  fee.  —  Ellis,  Acton,  and  Currer  Bell. 

m>  Serii  s  :  — Charles   Kingslcy.  — S.  T.  Coleridge.  —  T.  13.  Macaulay.  —  Alison.  —  Wel- 
—  Plato.  —  Characteristics  of  Christian  Civilization.  —  The  Modern  University. 
—  The  Pulpit  and  the  Press.  — Testimony  of  the  Rocks  :  a  Defence. 

"VISITS  TO  EUROPEAN  CELEBRITIES.  By  the  Rev.  William  B. 
Spr  ,  ■■  b,  D.  D.     12mo,  cloth,  $1.00  ;  cloth,  gilt,  $1.50. 

A  series  of  graphic  and  life-like  Personal  Sketches  of  many  of  the  most  distinguished  men  and 
women  of  Europe,  portrayed  as  the  Author  saw  them  in  their  own  homes,  and  under  the  most 
advantageous  circumstances.  Besides  these  "  pen  and  ink  "  sketches,  the  work  contains  the  novel 
attraction  of  a  facsimile  of  the  signature  of  each  of  the  persons  introduced.  (2  8) 


WORKS  FOIi  BIBLE  STUDENTS. 

KITTO'S  POPULAR  CYCLOPEDIA  OP  BIBLICAL  LITERA- 
TURE. Condensed  from  the  larger  work.  By  the  Author,  Jons  Kirro,  D.  D.  As- 
sisted by  James  Taylor,  D.  D.,  of  Glasgow.  With  over  five  hundred  Illustrations.  One 
volume,  octavo,  812  pp.   Cloth,  $3.00  ;   sheep,  §3.50  ;  cloth,  gilt,  $4.00  ;  half  calf,  $400. 

A  Dictionary  of  the  Bible.  Serving,  also,  as  a  Commentary,  embodying  the  products  of 
the  best  and  most  recent  researches  in  biblical  literature  in  which  the  scholars  of  Europe  and 
America  have  bten  engaged.  The  work,  the  result  of  immense  labor  and  research,  and  enriched 
by  the  contributions  of  writers  of  distinguished  eminence  in  the  various  departments  of  sacred  liter- 
ature, has  been,  by  universal  consent,  pronounced  the  best  work  of  its  class  extant,  and  the  one  best 
6uited  to  the  advanced  knowledge  of  the  present  day  in  all  the  studies  connected  with  theological 
science.  It  is  not  only  intended  for  ministers  and  theological  students,  but  it  is  also  particularly 
adapted  to  parents,  Sabbath-school  teachers,  and  the  great  body  of  the  religious  public. 

THE  HISTORY  OP  PALESTINE,  from  the  Patriarchal  Age  to  the  Present 
Time  ;  with  Chapters  on  the  Geography  and  Natural  History  of  the  Country,  the  Cus- 
toms and  Institutions  of  the  Hebrews.  By  John  Kitto,  D.  D.  With  upwards  of  two 
hundred  Illustrations.     12mo,  cloth,  $1.25. 

D3"~  A  work  admirably  adapted  to  the  Family,  the  Sabbath,  and  the  week-day  School  Library. 

ANALYTICAL     CONCORDANCE     TO     THE     HOLY    SCRIP- 

TTJRES  ;  or,  the  Bible  presented  under  Distinct  and  Classified  Heads  or  Topics.  By 
John  Eadie,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Author  of  "  Biblical  Cyclopaedia,"  "Ecclesiastical  Cyclopae- 
dia," "  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,"  etc.  One  volume,  octavo,  840  pp.  Cloth,  $3.00  ;  sheep, 
$3.50  ;  cloth,  gilt,  $4.00  ;  half  Turkey  morocco,  $4.00. 

The  object  of  this  Concordance  is  to  present  the  Scriptures  entire,  under  certain  classified 
and  exhaustive  heads.  It  differs  from  an  ordinary  Concordance,  in  that  its  arrangement  depends 
not  on  words,  but  on  subjects,  and  the  verses  are  printed  in  full.  Its  plan  does  not  bring  it  at 
all  into  competition  with  such  limited  works  as  those  of  Gaston  and  Warden  ;  for  they  select  doc- 
trinal topics  principally,  and  do  not  profess  to  comprehend  as  this  the  entire  Bible.  The  work 
also  contains  a  Synoptical  Table  of  Contents  of  the  whole  work,  presenting  in  brief  a  system  of 
biblical  antiquities  and  theology,  with  a  very  copious  and  accurate  index. 

The  value  of  this  work  to  ministers  and  Sabbath-school  teachers  can  hardly  be  over-estimated  ; 
end  it  needs  ouly  to  be  examined,  to  secure  the  approval  and  patronage  of  every  Bible  student. 

CRUDEN'S  CONDENSED  CONCORDANCE.  A  Complete  Concord- 
ance to  the  Holy  Scriptures.  By  Alexander  Cruden.  Revised  and  Re-edited  by  the 
Rev.  David  King,  LL.  D.    Octavo,  cloth  backs,  $1.25  ;  sheep,  $1.50. 

The  condensation  of  the  quotations  of  Scripture,  arranged  under  the  most  obvious  heads,  while 
it  diminishes  the  bidh  of  the  work,  greatly  facilitates  the  finding  of  any  required  passage. 

"  We  have  in  this  edition  of  Cruden  the  best  made  better.  That  is,  the  present  is  better  adapted 
to  the  purposes  of  a  Concordance,  by  the  erasure  of  superfluous  references,  the  omission  of  unne- 
cessary explanations,  and  the  contraction  of  quotations,  &c.  It  is  better  as  a  manual,  and  is  better 
adapted  by  its  price  to  the  means  of  many  who  need  and  ought  to  possess  such  a  work,  than  the 
formur  large  and  expensive  edition." — Puritan  Recorder. 

A  COMMENTARY  ON  THE  ORIGINAL  TEXT  OP  THE  ACTS 
OP  THE  APOSTLES.  By  Horatio  B.  Hackett,  D.  D.,  Prof,  of  Biblical  Liter- 
ature and  Interpretation,  in  the  Newton  Theol.  Inst.  [C7"A  new,  revised,  and  enlarged 
edition.     Royal  octavo,  cloth,  $2.25. 

1ST  Thig  most  important  and  very  popular  work  has  been  thoroughly  revised  ;  large  portions 
entirely  re-written,  with  the  addition  of  more  than  one  hundred  pages  of  new  matter;  the  result  of 
the  author's  continued,  laborious  investigations  and  travels,  since  the  publication  of  the  first  edition. 

(22) 


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